Key Takeaways:
- Egypt were eliminated from the World Cup after a controversial 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last-16
- The Egyptian Football Federation have filed a formal complaint with FIFA, citing alleged refereeing errors by French official Francois Letexier and his team
- Disputed VAR decisions, including the disallowed Mostafa Ziko goal and a contested late penalty claim, were central to Egypt’s grievances
Egypt Files FIFA Complaint Following Last-16 Defeat
The Egyptian Football Federation have officially requested that the refereeing team, led by France’s Francois Letexier, be removed from further officiating at the tournament, following the Pharaohs’ narrow 3-2 loss to Argentina in the round of sixteen. In a statement, Federation President Hany Aburida demanded FIFA investigate “the serious refereeing mistakes and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup.”
🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: The Egyptian Football Association have officially submitted a complaint to FIFA, calling for an investigation into the refereeing decisions during their 3-2 World Cup defeat to Argentina. 🇪🇬⚖️
The federation believe a number of key decisions influenced the… pic.twitter.com/eFIIeeWywh
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 8, 2026
Controversial VAR Decisions Influence Outcome
During the encounter on Tuesday evening, controversy erupted when Mostafa Ziko’s goal, which would have put Egypt 2-0 ahead, was ruled out after VAR identified a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the build-up. Ziko did find the net minutes later to double Egypt’s lead, positioning the Pharaohs on the verge of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. However, the match turned chaotic during added time as Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi scored to draw Argentina level.
In the sequence that led to Enzo Fernandez’s decisive goal for Argentina, the Egyptian camp contended they were denied a penalty after Alexis Mac Allister appeared to pull Hamdy Fathy in the area. The Egyptian federation’s statement stressed that the video technology referees also needed investigating for “the blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage,” which, according to them, could have benefited Egypt with a legitimate goal and a penalty.
Calls for Sanctions and Public Outcry
The Federation further insisted that all officials involved, including those responsible for video technology, be excluded from the remainder of the tournament following an investigation, citing “the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team.” The official stance echoed sentiments expressed by head coach Hossam Hassan, who stated to journalists after the match: “I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice.”
Hassan added: “We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play.” Speaking to BeIN, he continued: “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.”
