The Egyptian Football Association has filed an official complaint with FIFA against French referee François Letexier, who officiated the Round of 16 match between Egypt and Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, calling for an investigation into the refereeing decisions during the game, as well as the exclusion of the referee and the VAR team from managing the remainder of the tournament's matches.
Hany Abo Rida, president of the Egyptian Football Association, praised the performance of the national team players, affirming that they delivered a historic match against the reigning champion Argentina side and describing them as heroes. At the same time, he apologised to the Egyptian people and football fans for failing to hold on to their lead until the end of the match and for not realising the dream of reaching the next round.
Abo Rida expressed his appreciation for the tremendous support the national team delegation received throughout its journey in the tournament, extending his thanks to Egyptian fans, the media, officials, and the leadership in Egypt for their continued backing of the team.
In the complaint addressed to FIFA, the Egyptian Football Association president demanded a full investigation into the entire refereeing crew, including the VAR officials, over what he described as consequential refereeing errors, noting that the referee ignored reviewing a number of incidents which the association believes were in Egypt's favour, among them a valid goal and a penalty kick.
Abo Rida called for the French referee and the entire refereeing crew to be excluded from the remaining matches of the World Cup, following an investigation into the facts set out in the complaint, asserting that the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match contributed to the Egyptian national team's defeat and elimination from the tournament.