Egypt files FIFA complaint over refereeing in World Cup loss to Argentina

Egypt files FIFA complaint over refereeing in World Cup loss to Argentina

The Egyptian football federation has filed a formal complaint with FIFA demanding the removal of the officiating team that presided over Egypt's 3-2 round-of-16 loss to Argentina on July 7, 2026. Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation, is calling for an investigation into French referee Francois Letexier and the entire crew, including video technology referees, following what the federation described as serious refereeing mistakes and double standards.

The complaint alleges that the officiating team committed blatant errors and refused to review footage that would have favored Egypt. The federation has demanded the exclusion of the crew from the World Cup, claiming the investigation should prove a crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team.

The match in Atlanta saw Egypt lead 2-0 before the defending champions staged a late comeback. Egypt took an early lead within 15 minutes through a header from Yasser Ibrahim. While leading 1-0, a goal by Mostafa Ziko was disallowed after the video assistant referee (VAR) spotted a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the play. Ziko later scored a legitimate second goal, putting Egypt on the verge of their first-ever place in the quarter-finals.

Argentina responded with a goal from Cristian Romero before Lionel Messi equalized with his eighth goal of the tournament. Messi had previously seen a first-half penalty saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who had been awarded a penalty for a trip on Nicolas Tagliafico. According to Al Jazeera, Messi has now failed to score four of his eight non-shootout spot-kicks at the World Cup, including two misses during this tournament.

The final controversy occurred during the build-up to Argentina's winning goal by Enzo Fernandez. Egypt contends they were denied a penalty when Alexis Mac Allister pulled Hamdy Fathy. Egypt's head coach, Hossam Hassan, 59, stated that the penalty was not even checked by VAR despite the image of the shirt being pulled back.

Hassan was explosive in his post-match reactions, claiming his team had been cheated unfairly and had suffered injustice. In a press conference, he asserted that the match was clearly a rigged match and suggested that external interests influenced the outcome to ensure Argentina remained in the competition.

"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,"

Hossam Hassan, Egypt coach, via BeIN

Hassan further claimed that the world champions received support at every level and stated, It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament. Such was his frustration that Hassan declared he would no longer watch any further matches of the tournament as a way of speaking up.

Mostafa Ziko echoed these sentiments, stating that the referee had robbed a whole nation of its efforts.

Thierry Henry provided a different perspective on Fox Sports, noting that while the review for Ziko's disallowed goal was thorough, the issue was a lack of consistency. He observed that subsequent Egyptian penalty appeals appeared to be resolved much more quickly, which led to questions from supporters.

Beyond the officiating, Hassan criticized the scheduling of the game, which kicked off at noon (16:00 GMT) just four days after the round of 32 matches. Hassan argued that noon is a time for walking or brunch, not for playing football, and suggested those who schedule such matches have never played the sport.

Despite the loss, Hassan praised his squad, which consisted predominantly of local players from the Egyptian domestic league, alongside Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush. He noted that his team played a surprisingly attacking style, departing from his usual tactic of a tight defense and counter-attacks.

The 2026 World Cup continues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico through July 19.