The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has called on FIFA to investigate the officiating team that handled Egypt's dramatic Round of 16 clash against Argentina, alleging that a series of contentious refereeing decisions played a decisive role in its elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Egypt's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals were dashed on Tuesday after surrendering a two-goal advantage to lose 3-2 to the defending champions in Atlanta.
Having led 2-0 until the closing stages, Egypt watched Argentina mount a remarkable comeback through goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernández to book a last-eight showdown with Switzerland.
While Argentina celebrated qualification, Egypt's attention quickly turned to the officiating, with the federation insisting that crucial decisions unfairly influenced the outcome of the contest.
Central to the complaint was the decision to disallow a goal scored by Mostafa Zico after referee François Letexier reviewed the incident on the advice of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and ruled that Lisandro Martínez had been fouled in the build-up.
The Egyptians also believed they should have been awarded a penalty after Mohamed Salah went down under a challenge from Julián Álvarez when the score was 2-2.
The federation further argued that Alexis Mac Allister committed a foul on Hamdi Fathy before Enzo Fernández scored Argentina's winner, but claimed that incident was not subjected to the same level of VAR scrutiny.
According to the EFA, the differing treatment of the incidents reflected an inconsistent application of VAR during the match.
Following the final whistle, EFA President Hany Abo Rida submitted a formal complaint to FIFA, requesting a thorough review of the officiating performance.
The federation asked the world football governing body to investigate referee Letexier, his assistants and the VAR officials, while also requesting that they be stood down from officiating further matches until the investigation is concluded.
The EFA maintained that serious refereeing errors had a direct impact on the outcome of the game, citing the disallowed Egyptian goal, the failure to award a penalty and the absence of VAR intervention before Argentina's winning goal.
Despite the disappointment, the federation praised the Egyptian players for their display against the world champions, describing them as "heroes" for their performance while expressing regret that they were unable to protect their lead.
The complaint has added to wider debate over refereeing standards at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where a number of teams have questioned decisions made during the tournament.
At the time of reporting, FIFA had yet to issue an official response or indicate whether it would open an investigation into the match officials.
Although national football associations occasionally challenge refereeing performances at major tournaments, FIFA has historically been reluctant to overturn match results or sanction officials solely on the basis of such complaints.
Egypt itself petitioned FIFA following its defeat to host nation Russia at the 2018 World Cup, while Italy unsuccessfully sought a review of the officiating after its controversial elimination by South Korea at the 2002 tournament.
More recently, Algeria also lodged a complaint over refereeing decisions after its defeat to Argentina earlier in the ongoing World Cup.
For Egypt, however, the focus remains on ensuring what it describes as greater consistency and accountability in officiating, even as its impressive World Cup campaign comes to an end in controversial circumstances.
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