Egypt lodges FIFA complaint over refereeing in World Cup defeat to Argentina
The Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) has submitted an official complaint to FIFA, calling for an investigation into French referee François Letexier and his officiating team following Egypt’s contentious 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the federation confirmed that its president, Hany Aburida, had formally requested FIFA to examine what it described as serious officiating errors that it believes influenced the outcome of the match.
According to the EFA, the complaint focuses on what it called “serious refereeing mistakes” and “double standards” that allegedly contributed to Egypt’s elimination from the tournament.
“Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the French referee François Letexier and his officiating team after the serious refereeing mistakes committed by the team of referees and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup,” the statement read.
Egypt’s grievances stem from several key incidents during Tuesday’s encounter. Mostafa Ziko had an early goal ruled out following a VAR review that identified a foul on Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez earlier in the attacking move, despite Egypt taking an early lead.
Ziko later extended Egypt’s advantage to 2-0, but Argentina mounted a comeback through goals from Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi before Enzo Fernández netted the decisive winner.
The federation also argued that midfielder Hamdy Fathy should have been awarded a penalty in the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal, alleging he was pulled by Alexis Mac Allister inside the penalty area.
In its statement, the EFA criticised both the on-field officials and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team, claiming that crucial incidents favourable to Egypt were overlooked.
“Aburida demanded the investigation of the entire team of referees, including the video technology referees, because of the blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage that we believe are in favour of the Egyptian national team, and we see in it the Pharaohs’ right to a correct goal and a penalty,” the federation stated.
The EFA further called for Letexier and his entire officiating crew to be removed from the remainder of the tournament if the investigation confirms what it described as discriminatory treatment against the Egyptian national team.
Following the match, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan also voiced his frustration with the officiating, insisting his team had been denied fair treatment.
“I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today; we have suffered injustice,” Hassan said.
He added: “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play.”
Speaking to BeIN Sports, Hassan went further by suggesting that external influences may have affected the outcome of the contest.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” he said.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”
The defeat ended Egypt’s bid to reach the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in the nation’s history, while defending champions Argentina progressed to the last eight.
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