The Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) has formally lodged a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the officiating during Egypt’s controversial 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
In a statement released on Wednesday, EFA President Hany Aburida accused French referee François Letexier and his officiating team of making “serious refereeing mistakes” and applying “double standards” that ultimately led to Egypt’s elimination from the tournament.
According to the federation, the complaint calls for a full investigation into both the on-field officials and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team over decisions that Egypt believes unfairly influenced the outcome of the match.
One of the major flashpoints came when Mostafa Ziko’s first-half goal was ruled out following a VAR review, with officials penalising an earlier foul on Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez during the build-up. Although Ziko later restored Egypt’s advantage to make it 2-0, the North Africans saw their lead erased as Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi brought Argentina level.
The biggest controversy, however, came moments before Argentina’s winning goal scored by Enzo Fernández. Egypt insists Hamdy Fathy was pulled down inside the penalty area by Alexis Mac Allister and should have been awarded a penalty before Argentina launched the decisive attack.
“The president demanded an investigation into the entire refereeing team, including the VAR officials, because of the blatant errors and their refusal to review incidents that clearly favoured the Egyptian national team,” the federation said.
The EFA further urged FIFA to remove Letexier and his entire officiating crew from the remainder of the World Cup if the investigation confirms the alleged errors and what it described as discrimination against the Egyptian national team.
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan also expressed his frustration after the match, claiming his side had been denied fair treatment.
“I do not want to talk about hard luck. We have been cheated unfairly today,” Hassan said. “We haven’t seen respect or fair play.”
Speaking to beIN Sports, the Egyptian coach suggested external influences may have played a role in the result.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running,” he said.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level.”
FIFA has yet to respond publicly to Egypt’s complaint
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