The Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) has filed a formal complaint with FIFA against the officiating team following Egypt’s last 64 contest 3-2 defeat of Argentina at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The federation maintains controversial refereeing calls were crucial to the Pharaohs’ exit from the tournament.
Following the knockout clash, EFA President Hany Aburida called for “investigating French referee Francois Letexier and his whole refereeing team alongside the VAR officials over serious refereeing mistakes throughout such a decisive match and double standards.”
Egypt Questions Key Refereeing Decisions
Things got out of hand for Samy’s side when their striker, Mostafa Ziko, registered what looked to be a goal in the first half only for it to be chalked off after VAR intervened and ruled that a foul had occurred elsewhere in the attacking build-up. But Ziko added a second soon after to make it 2-0, leaving the Egyptians just minutes away from their first-ever place in the quarter-finals.
But Argentina struck back through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and then Enzo Fernandez who scored the winning goal.
Among the incidents mentioned by Egypt are:
- VAR Cancels Out Mostafa Ziko’s Opener
- Penalty claim for Egypt after Alexis Mac Allister appears to pull Hamdy Fathy in the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal
- Accusations that officials chose not to watch replay video which could have worked in Egypt’s favour
Federation Demands Referee’s Removal
The Egyptian Football Federation released a statement where it implored FIFA to investigate the entire team’s officiating, and that of VAR staff, saying major decisions led Egypt to lose out on an legitimately scored goal and a penalty kick opportunity.
The federation also demanded:
A FIFA-wide investigation to go through the refereeing expertise.
The elimination of referee Francois Letexier and his officiating team from the rest of the FIFA World Cup.
The accountability for what it described as discriminatory treatment against the Egviert national team.
Coach Hossam Hassan Slams Officials
Frustration grew on the Egypt bench, with head coach Hossam Hassan claiming officials had not treated his side fairly.
After the loss, Hassan said Egypt was “unfairly cheated” and raised doubts about outside effects on the game.
His key remarks included:
That Egypt has not received the respect or fair play.
Accusations the holders had a preferential treatment.
More focus on fairness and transparency in World Cup referring
FIFA Yet to Respond
FIFA has not given an official reaction to Egypt’s complaint The incident has prompted a chorus of passionate debate among football fans and analysts, some of whom are calling for greater consistency and transparency in the use of VAR during major international tournaments.