Egypt Lodges FIFA Complaint Over Referee in World Cup Loss
Egypt's Football Association filed a FIFA complaint over French referee François Letexier's handling of their 2-3 World Cup Round of 16 loss to Argentina, citing a disallowed goal and an unawarded penalty to Mohamed Salah.
The Egyptian Football Association announced it has filed a formal complaint with FIFA regarding French referee François Letexier's officiating in Egypt's 2-3 loss to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Letexier and his French refereeing team officiated the match on July 7, during which Egypt lost 2-3 to Argentina.
The match featured several controversial moments. Seko scored to put Egypt up 2-0 in the 58th minute, but VAR ruled it out for a foul by Lisandro Martínez, resulting in the goal being disallowed. Additionally, Mohamed Salah was fouled and fell in Argentina's penalty area, but no penalty was awarded. Argentina then mounted a comeback, securing a 3-2 victory with a goal from Enzo Fernández in the 90+2nd minute.
Following the match, the Egyptian Football Association, led by Hani Abu Rida, announced it had submitted a formal complaint to FIFA requesting an investigation into the French referee, emphasizing that he made serious errors during the match and applied inconsistent standards in his decisions.
Abu Rida also called for an investigation into the entire refereeing team, including the VAR official, due to what he described as flagrant mistakes and a refusal to review certain footage that the Egyptian Football Association believed should have resulted in a goal and a penalty.
The statement further called for the referee and his team to be banned from the remaining matches of the World Cup.
