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The Egyptian Football Association filed a formal complaint with FIFA on Wednesday demanding an investigation into the French referee who oversaw its dramatic 3-2 round-of-16 defeat to Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, and called for the entire officiating crew to be removed from the tournament.
EFA president Hany Aburida submitted the complaint targeting referee Francois Letexier and his assistants, including the video technology officials, over what the federation described as "blatant errors" and "double standards" that it believes directly cost Egypt a victory over the defending champions.
Egypt had come within 11 minutes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history, leading 2-0 before Argentina scored three late goals, including the winner from Enzo Fernandez in the second minute of stoppage time.
The controversy began when a Mostafa Ziko goal was ruled out by VAR while Egypt led 1-0, with officials identifying a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the build-up.
Ziko restored Egypt's two-goal cushion shortly after, but the federation's grievance deepened in stoppage time: as Argentina pressed for a winner, Egypt believe Alexis Mac Allister committed a foul on Hamdy Fathy in the penalty area that was not reviewed, and Fernandez scored from the ensuing move.
Aburida demanded the investigation cover the video technology referees as well, citing "the blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage that we believe are in favour of the Egyptian national team."
The federation said it saw in the incidents "the Pharaohs' right to a correct goal and a penalty." He also demanded the "exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes and proving the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team."
The federation's statement echoed remarks made by Egypt coach Hossam Hassan in the immediate aftermath of the defeat. Hassan told reporters he did not wish to attribute the loss to bad luck, saying his team had been "cheated unfairly" and had "suffered injustice." He added that there had been "no respect or fair play" shown to his side.
Speaking to broadcaster BeIN Sports, Hassan went further, suggesting the officiating had served a purpose beyond the game itself. "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition," he said. "Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level."
The anger directed at Letexier extended well beyond official channels. The referee deactivated his Instagram account after the match amid a wave of online abuse, having first limited comments before shutting it down entirely.
Scenes on the touchline had already turned heated at full-time, when Egypt's goalkeeping coach was shown a red card and had to be physically restrained from confronting Letexier, while several other members of the Egyptian bench received yellow cards.
The complaints from Egypt arrive at a moment of broader debate over VAR consistency at the tournament. The system, introduced to elite football to reduce clear and obvious refereeing errors, has faced recurring scrutiny over the discretion afforded to officials in deciding which incidents to review, a question this match has brought back into sharp focus.
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