The Egyptian Football Federation has filed an official complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into French referee François Letexier and his officiating team following Egypt’s controversial 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the federation said its president, Hany Aburida, had requested FIFA to investigate the match.
It specifically wants investigation into what it described as “serious refereeing mistakes” and “double standards” that it claimed contributed to the Pharaohs’ elimination from the tournament.
The federation said: “Hany Aburida, President of the Egyptian Football Federation, 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.”
Egypt’s frustration centred on several key decisions during Tuesday’s encounter.
Mostafa Ziko had a goal disallowed after VAR intervened to identify a foul on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez earlier in the attacking move while Egypt were leading 1-0.
Although Ziko later restored Egypt’s advantage to make it 2-0, Argentina fought back through Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi before Enzo Fernandez scored the winner.
The Egyptian federation also argued that Hamdy Fathy should have been awarded a penalty in the build-up to Argentina’s decisive goal after an alleged pull by Alexis Mac Allister.
It said: “Aburida demanded the investigation of the entire team of referees, including the video technology referees, because of the blatant errors and insisting on not reviewing some of the footage that we believe are in favour of the Egyptian national team, and we see in it the Pharaohs’ right to a correct goal and a penalty.”
The federation added that Aburida 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.”
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan also criticised the officiating after the match, insisting his side had been unfairly treated.
“I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice,” Hassan said.
He added: “We haven’t seen respect or fair play.
“There has not been respect or fair play.”
Speaking to BeIN Sports, Hassan suggested external influences may have played a role in the outcome.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition.
“Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.”
He continued: “In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects.
“The world champions received support at every level.”
The defeat ended Egypt’s hopes of reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time, while defending champions Argentina advanced to the last eight.
