Egypt approaches FIFA, calls for probe into controversial refereeing against Argentina

After Egypt suffered a heartbreaking departure from the FIFA World Cup 2026 after enduring a 0-2 loss against Argentina in their Round of 16 clash on Tuesday, July 7 at the Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, the Egypt Football Association has approached FIFA over subpar refereeing in the clash.

Egypt fumes on FIFA over bad refereeing 

Egypt were unhappy with a series of decisions that eventually went against them during the clash, with their coach Hossam Hassan claiming they felt cheated out of a place in the last eight stage of the tournament.

As per a report in Spanish publication Diario AS, the president of the Egypt Footbaall Association, Hany Abo Rida, has filed an official complaint with FIFA against referee Francois Letexier and officiating team.

The Egyptian board has asked for a detailed investigation into the decisions taken by the officials that harmed Egypt's chances of winning against the defending champions, besides asking for Letexier and co. to be removed from the rest of the tournament.

After the game Egypt's coach Hassan made serious claims of the game being rigged, as he felt that his side faced unfair treatment against Argentina. While continuing, Hassan noted several instances where a VAR check was needed but was taken without any fair reasons by the referees.

"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice. We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There has not been respect or fair play," said Hassan.

“A penalty was ruled out, was not even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed. There has not even been a VAR check when we have all seen the image of the (shirt) being pulled back," added Hassan.

What's next for Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026?

After making a remarkable comeback against Egypt, Lionel Scaloni's men will prepare themselves to lock horns against Switzerland in their quarterfinal clash on Saturday, July 12 at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Lionel Messi's red-hot form

The 39-year-old legendary forward has been going through a purple patch, as he has scored 8 goals in five appearances for Argentina in the ongoing edition of the tournament. It will be interesting to see if he can continue his fine scoring form in the crucial stage of the World Cup as well.