Femi Ashekun/
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has formally called on FIFA to investigate the controversial officiating that overshadowed Egypt’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, escalating a row that has dominated global football headlines.
Egypt surrendered a two-goal lead in the closing stages of Tuesday’s encounter in Atlanta as the defending champions scored three unanswered goals to book their place in the quarter-finals.
However, the result has been eclipsed by fierce criticism of several key refereeing and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions.
In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the EFA confirmed that it had submitted a formal complaint to FIFA against French referee, François Letexier and his officiating team, demanding a full investigation into the match.
The federation also urged FIFA to remove the officials from the remainder of the tournament pending the outcome of its probe.
The Egyptian federation argued that VAR wrongly disallowed one of its goals after identifying an earlier foul in the build-up, while failing to review similar incidents involving Argentina.
It also questioned the decision not to award Egypt a penalty shortly before Argentina scored the decisive goal, saying the inconsistency of the officiating had directly influenced the outcome of the match.
Egypt forward, Mostafa Ziko, who found the net during the match, accused the referee of treating his team unfairly.
“The referee wasn’t good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn’t want us to win,” Ziko told reporters after the game.
Head coach, Hossam Hassan, also launched a scathing attack on the officiating, questioning why VAR intervened to disallow Egypt’s goal but did not review what his side believed were legitimate penalty claims.
“There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome. Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports,” Hassan said after the match.
The Egyptian manager suggested that his players had been denied the reward for one of their finest World Cup performances and implied that the decisions had favoured the reigning champions.
The controversy has also attracted criticism from several former players and television pundits, who questioned the consistency of VAR’s intervention during the contest and reignited debate over the technology’s application in major tournaments.
As of Wednesday, FIFA had not publicly responded to Egypt’s complaint or announced whether it would investigate the allegations raised by the EFA.
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