Cairo [Egypt]: The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) president Hany Abo Rida has submitted a formal complaint to the FIFA against French referee Francois Letexier and his officiating team after Egypt's 3-2 defeat to Argentina in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 contest on Tuesday, according to a report by Spanish publication Diario AS.
This comes after Egypt suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat to defending champions Argentina, igniting discussions over refereeing decisions and FIFA's management of the tournament. During the match, Egypt saw a second-half goal from Mostafa Ziko disallowed after an on-field VAR review determined that an infringement had occurred around 20 seconds before the ball entered the net. The decision became a major turning point in the match, intensifying frustration on the Egypt bench as their World Cup campaign ended, while Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals.
According to the report by Diario AS, the EFA believes the referee played a "decisive role" in Argentina's victory.
Along with seeking clarification, the Egyptian Football Federation has called for an investigation into what it considers controversial decisions that went against the Pharaohs. The federation has also requested the removal of the French officiating team from the remainder of the tournament, citing what it described as significant errors. Egypt believes referee Francois Letexier and his team had a major influence on the outcome of the match.
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Notably, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan announced a personal boycott of the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing a lack of "fair play" and "justice" in the tournament.
After the loss, Hassan told reporters that his team had been treated unfairly, saying, as quoted by ESPN UK, "Argentina's victory is entirely undeserved. I promise you, once I return today, I will not watch football in this World Cup at all, because there is no justice in it. My personal protest is that I will not watch this World Cup again. When I get back home and back to our country, I am not watching it".
"We had the right to win, and I don't want to say 'hard luck' to us - No. We left with honour, honour on our part. But the final result, aside from being highly influenced, is a far cry from the 'fair play' that FIFA talks about and far from respect. There was neither respect nor fair play today," he added.
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Notably, the Egypt controversy follows another high-profile dispute involving United States forward Folarin Balogun. After receiving a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, Balogun's automatic one-match suspension was suspended by FIFA under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, allowing him to play in the Round of 16 against Belgium.
The reversal drew widespread criticism after US President Donald Trump revealed he had spoken with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to "review" Balogun's suspension before FIFA announced the decision.
