Enzo Fernández, Argentina and the Biggest Myth in Modern Football: That Experts Always Get It Right

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be remembered for spectacular goals, unforgettable drama and incredible individual performances. Unfortunately, it will also be remembered for something far less admirable—controversial officiating, heated confrontations and a growing question that football can no longer ignore:

How much faith should we place in referees, VAR and so-called experts?

For many fans, Argentina's physical style of play became one of the defining talking points of the tournament.

Midfielder Enzo Fernández, in particular, attracted criticism for a series of aggressive challenges throughout the knockout stages. Critics argued that his tackles repeatedly crossed the line between competitive football and persistent infringement. While he was eventually sent off in the final after receiving a second yellow card, many supporters believed he should have been cautioned—or even dismissed—much earlier in the tournament.

Others defended his style as simply being part of modern defensive midfield play.

That difference of opinion highlights a much larger issue.

Football Is No Longer Just Decided by Referees

VAR was introduced with one simple promise:

To eliminate clear and obvious mistakes.

Instead, football has entered a strange new era where almost every controversial decision is viewed several times from multiple camera angles by trained officials... yet controversy remains.

Why?

Because VAR is not artificial intelligence.

VAR is still human.

One referee may see a reckless tackle.

Another sees a fair challenge.

One expert insists a player endangered his opponent.

Another says the player clearly won the ball first.

The technology records events perfectly.

Human beings interpret them differently.

The England Example

England's match against Mexico perfectly illustrated this problem.

England eventually scored, only for VAR to review an earlier challenge involving Jarrell Quansah. After the review, England's goal was disallowed and Quansah was shown a red card.

Many believed the tackle endangered the opponent.

Others argued Quansah had clearly played the ball first and that the subsequent contact resulted naturally from the momentum of the challenge.

The point isn't whether one opinion is right.

The point is that two experienced observers can watch the exact same footage and arrive at completely opposite conclusions.

Spain's Disallowed Goal

The World Cup final produced another controversial moment.

Spain had a goal ruled out for an attacking foul.

Many viewers accepted the decision.

Others watched repeated replays and argued they could not see sufficient contact to justify cancelling the goal.

Again, the issue isn't simply whether the decision was correct.

The more interesting question is:

Why do intelligent people watching identical footage often reach completely different conclusions?

Experts Are Still Human

This extends far beyond football.

Whether discussing economics, medicine, politics or business, experts frequently disagree.

One television pundit confidently declares:

"That's a definite red card."

Another former referee immediately responds:

"Never a red."

Both possess years of experience.

Both speak with conviction.

One of them must be wrong—or perhaps the Laws themselves leave enough room for subjective interpretation that neither answer is absolute.

Experience does not remove human bias.

It simply changes where that bias comes from.

The Real Lesson

Perhaps the greatest misconception of modern society is believing that technology removes human error.

It doesn't.

Technology merely provides more information.

Human beings still interpret that information through their own experiences, assumptions and opinions.

VAR cannot eliminate disagreement because disagreement isn't caused by cameras.

It is caused by people.

Healthy Skepticism

This doesn't mean referees are incompetent.

It doesn't mean experts know nothing.

Nor does it mean every controversial decision results from bias or corruption.

It simply reminds us of something remarkably easy to forget.

Human judgment will never be perfect.

Whether wearing a referee's badge, sitting in a VAR room, appearing on television as an expert or writing an opinion online, every decision is ultimately made by a person.

Perhaps football's biggest lesson from the 2026 World Cup isn't about Argentina, England or Spain.

It's about us.

The more convinced we become that our own interpretation is unquestionably correct, the more likely we are to overlook a simple truth:

Being experienced is not the same as being infallible.

Football, like life, will probably always be decided by human judgment.

And that means controversy is here to stay.

Take care!

Prof. Carl Boniface

For thought:

"Everyone is an expert!" In other words, humans like to think they are an authority on any subject they are discussing. In sport, as a fan they like to think that they see the bigger picture whilst the majority of them have never played on a professional level. There are thousands of personal development books on the market whereby writers promote themselves as an authority, but if the truth be known the vast majority of them have never had their own business, let alone run a company.

Are you an expert?