The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has formally petitioned FIFA to investigate the officiating of Egypt’s dramatic Round of 16 defeat to Argentina, demanding the removal of the entire refereeing team from the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup over what it described as serious errors and “double standards.”
The complaint was lodged on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, a day after Egypt’s heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Argentina in Atlanta, where the Pharaohs squandered a two-goal lead before the reigning world champions completed a stunning comeback to book a place in the quarter-finals.
According to the EFA, several refereeing decisions played a decisive role in the outcome of the match, prompting the federation to formally escalate the matter to football’s world governing body.
The federation strongly objected to the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which ruled out a goal by Mostafa Zico after Egypt midfielder, Marwan Attia was adjudged to have stepped on the foot of Argentina defender, Lisandro Martinez earlier in the attacking move.
Egypt also argued that captain, Mohamed Salah should have been awarded a penalty after an alleged foul inside Argentina’s penalty area moments before the world champions launched the counterattack that produced the stoppage-time winner.
In a strongly worded statement, the EFA confirmed that it had officially filed a complaint with FIFA.
“Hany Abou Rida, President of the Egyptian Football Association, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the French referee, Francois Letexier, 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 federation said.
The EFA also called for a comprehensive investigation into the referee and the VAR officials, alleging repeated failures to properly review crucial incidents during the encounter.
It further demanded the removal of the referee and the entire officiating crew from the tournament after the investigation, while alleging what it described as discrimination against the Egyptian national team.
Expressing its frustration, the federation said it could not remain silent over the refereeing decisions made during the match against Argentina.
It added that the failure to properly use VAR raised serious concerns about the consistency of decisions that directly influenced the game, noting that several football analysts and experts had also questioned the officiating.
Egypt’s elimination means the country is still searching for its first-ever appearance in a FIFA World Cup quarter-final.
Argentina’s comeback was inspired by captain, Lionel Messi, who created his team’s first goal in the 79th minute before scoring the equaliser four minutes later, paving the way for the dramatic stoppage-time winner.
Following the match, Egypt coach, Hossam Hassan, accused the officials of denying his side a fair contest.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” he said, insisting that Egypt had been “treated unfairly” and had “suffered injustice.”
Goalscorer, Mostafa Zico, also criticised the officiating, saying, “The referee was really unfair. The injustice was clear. There’s been an unfairness right from the start of the match.
“It is clear that this tournament has been fixed.”
FIFA had yet to respond to the allegations and requests made by the Egyptian Football Association as of the time of filing this report.
