The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has lodged an official complaint with FIFA over the officiating in Egypt’s controversial 3-2 Round of 16 defeat to defending champions Argentina, demanding an investigation into French referee François Letexier and calling for his removal, along with his entire officiating crew, from the remainder of the tournament.
EFA President Hany Abo Rida confirmed the complaint, stating that it followed “serious refereeing mistakes committed by the officiating team and double standards that caused Egypt to lose the match and exit the World Cup.”
He further demanded an investigation into the entire officiating team, including the video assistant referees, citing what he described as blatant errors and a refusal to review footage that Egypt believes showed a legitimate goal and a penalty were wrongly denied.
Abo Rida also called for the referee and full officiating crew to be removed from the tournament should the investigation confirm discriminatory errors against the Egyptian national team.
Egypt had raced into a 2-0 lead in Atlanta before Argentina staged a stunning turnaround, with goals from Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi leveling the tie before Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback deep into stoppage time.
The Egyptian camp’s frustration centered on two key incidents: a goal ruled out following a VAR review, and a penalty appeal in the buildup to Argentina’s winner that was not reviewed by the officials.
Speaking after the match, head coach Hossam Hassan was scathing in his assessment of the officiating, telling reporters he believed Egyptian football has always respected fair play, and that the same principles required all teams to compete on equal terms and receive equal treatment.
Hassan pointed to the disallowed second goal and a penalty claim he felt should have been reviewed, saying the decisions had gone against his side at the most critical moments of the match.
He also suggested wider forces may have been at play, floating the theory that the tournament’s commercial interests could be tied to keeping the reigning champions and Messi in the competition for as long as possible.
Forward Mostafa Ziko, who had a goal disallowed and later scored, echoed his coach’s frustration in an emotional post-match interview, saying the officiating had been unfair from the start and questioning why the disallowed goal decision went against Egypt.