Egyptian FA shares strong reaction to refereeing in Argentina game
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has asked FIFA to remove the referees involved in their recent loss to Argentina from the World Cup.
In one of the most exciting and dramatic games of the 2026 World Cup so far, Argentina, the reigning champions, secured their place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. Egypt took an early lead, going 2-0 up and looked like they might pull off one of the biggest surprises in World Cup history. But Argentina showed their skill and came back to win 3-2, thanks to goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and a last-minute winner by Enzo Fernandez in the 93rd minute. Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
However, the match wasn’t without controversy. Egypt had a goal by Mostafa Zico disallowed after VAR ruled there was a foul at the start of the play. Later, Egypt also said their star player Mohamed Salah was fouled in the penalty area just before Argentina scored their late winning goal, which felt similar to the earlier disallowed goal.
Right after the game, some Egyptian players and coaches went onto the pitch to speak with the referee, Francois Letexier. The referee responded by giving out yellow and red cards to some coaches. After the match, Egypt’s manager Hossam Hassan and goal scorer Zico criticized the referees, calling their decisions unfair or even fixed.
Now, the EFA has released a statement saying they cannot stay quiet about the refereeing in the match. They said: “The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent about the refereeing decisions seen in the game against Argentina and the failure to properly use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Some important moments raised serious concerns and made us question the fairness and consistency of the calls, which affected the outcome of the game.”
They added that experts from Egypt and around the world agreed there were controversial and key refereeing decisions, and stressed how important it is to keep high standards of honesty, fairness, and openness in refereeing, especially in such a big event as the World Cup.
The statement also reminded everyone that Egyptian football respects fair play and integrity, and all teams should compete equally and get fair treatment. The way the match was officiated caused a lot of disappointment among players, staff, and fans who wanted to see the best refereeing on football’s biggest stage.
In another statement, the EFA said they had officially asked FIFA to remove the officials who handled the game from the tournament. It said: “Hany Abou Rida, president of the Egyptian Football Federation, sent a complaint to FIFA asking for an investigation into referee Francois Letexier, because of serious mistakes made by the referees and double standards, which led to Egypt losing the match and leaving the World Cup.”
They also called for a review of the refereeing team and VAR officials after what they called “clear errors and refusal to look at some video replays.” They demanded the referee and his crew be kicked out of the World Cup after investigation, accusing them of unfair treatment of Egypt’s team.