The Egyptian Football Association has filed an official complaint with FIFA over the refereeing of Egypt’s Round of 16 match against Argentina at the 2026 World Cup.
Egypt FA president Hany Abo Rida called for an investigation into French referee François Letexier and the entire officiating team, including the Video Assistant Referee officials, following several controversial decisions during the match.
The complaint was submitted after Egypt suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina and were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.
The Pharaohs had taken a two-goal lead before Argentina completed a dramatic comeback to secure victory and advance to the next round.
Following the final whistle, Egypt’s coaching staff and football officials strongly questioned several refereeing decisions they believed had directly influenced the match.
Abo Rida said the Egyptian Football Association had asked FIFA to investigate referee François Letexier over what it described as serious officiating errors.
The Egyptian side believes several incidents were judged inconsistently and that key decisions had a significant impact on the course of the game.
The complaint also covers the full refereeing team, including the officials responsible for VAR.
A major part of Egypt’s complaint focuses on incidents that the federation believes should have been reviewed more closely by the Video Assistant Referee system.
According to the Egyptian position, some situations were not properly reviewed despite potentially involving a valid Egypt goal or a penalty for the Pharaohs.
The lack of an on-field review for certain incidents caused frustration among Egypt’s coaching staff, particularly because of the importance of the knockout match.
The Egyptian Football Association has also called for the referee and his team to be removed from the remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup if the investigation confirms the alleged violations.
The federation also asked FIFA to investigate allegations of discriminatory treatment against Egypt during the match.
Those claims remain allegations made as part of the Egyptian complaint and have not been officially proven. Any decision will depend on FIFA’s review of the case and the evidence submitted.
Despite the elimination, Abo Rida praised Egypt’s players for their performance against the defending world champions.
He described the team’s display as historic and expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the players and coaching staff throughout the match.
The Egypt FA president also apologized to Egyptian supporters after the team failed to protect its two-goal advantage and reach the next round.
Abo Rida thanked Egyptian supporters, the media and officials for their backing throughout the national team’s World Cup campaign.
Attention now turns to FIFA and whether world football’s governing body will formally investigate the performance of the refereeing team and the controversial decisions that followed Egypt’s dramatic elimination.