The Egyptian Football Federation has lodged a formal complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into French referee Francois Letexier and his officiating team following Egypt's controversial 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup round of 16 on July 7, 2026.
Allegations of Serious Refereeing Mistakes
In a statement released on Wednesday, the federation accused the officiating crew of making "serious refereeing mistakes" and applying "double standards" that cost Egypt the match and their place in the tournament. The complaint was filed by Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation.
The controversy began when referee Letexier disallowed a goal by Mostafa Ziko when Egypt was leading 1-0. The decision came after VAR intervention spotted a foul on Argentina's Lisandro Martinez earlier in the build-up. Moments later, Ziko scored again to put Egypt 2-0 up, putting them on the brink of a historic first quarterfinal appearance.
Late Drama and Disputed Winner
Argentina fought back with goals from Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi to level the score in added time. However, the winning goal by Enzo Fernandez sparked further outrage from the Egyptian camp. Egypt claimed they should have been awarded a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy in the build-up to the goal.
The Egyptian statement said: "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 favor of the Egyptian national team, and we see in it the Pharaohs’ right to a correct goal and a penalty."
Demand for Exclusion from World Cup
The federation also called for "the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes and proving the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team."
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan echoed these sentiments in his post-match remarks. "I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice," Hassan told journalists. "We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play."
Coach Suggests External Factors
Speaking to BeIN Sports, Hassan went further, suggesting that external factors may have influenced the outcome. "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level."
FIFA has not yet responded to the complaint. The incident has sparked widespread debate about refereeing standards at the World Cup, with Egypt's elimination marking a bitter end to a campaign that saw them come agonizingly close to making history.
