The Egyptian Football Association has called on FIFA to exclude French referee François Letexier from the remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup, condemning what it described as "flagrant refereeing errors" during the round-of-16 match that Egypt lost to Argentina 3-2 on Tuesday.
Through its president Hany Abo Rida, the Egyptian FA issued a statement calling on its international counterpart to open an investigation into Letexier, citing the grave refereeing errors committed by the officiating team and a double standard that caused Egypt's defeat and elimination from the World Cup, according to the statement.
The association also called for the head referee, his assistants, and the VAR officials to be banned from managing World Cup matches "after an investigation into these errors and proof of discriminatory conduct against the Egypt national team that caused their defeat and elimination from the tournament."
The statement particularly criticised the insistence on not reviewing certain incidents, in which the federation believes the Pharaohs were entitled to a legitimate goal and a penalty kick. During the match, Letexier disallowed a goal by Egyptian striker Mustafa Abdel Raouf "Ziko" at the start of the second half, following intervention by the video assistant referee (VAR), due to an infringement at the start of the attacking move.
Egyptians also believe they were entitled to a penalty in stoppage time, following a shirt pull on Hamdi Fathi and contact between Mohamed Salah and Julián Álvarez inside the penalty area, immediately before Argentina's third goal.
After the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan criticised the refereeing, describing it as neither fair nor just. He added: "There was pressure exerted on the referee by the Argentine camp, which led to this result."