2026 World Cup: Egypt Appeals to FIFA After Controversial Elimination Against Argentina
Egypt’s exit in the Round of 16 of the World Cup against Argentina (3-2) continues to stir up a heated debate. According to Argentine media outlet TyC Sports, the Egyptian Football Federation has officially appealed to FIFA to contest several refereeing decisions made during the match.
The Pharaohs are calling for a thorough investigation into the officiating by French referee François Letexier and his assistants. The Egyptian federation believes that certain decisions directly influenced the final outcome of the match and is demanding that the officiating team be removed from the rest of the competition.
The first disputed action involves a goal disallowed for Mostafa Ziko in the 58th minute. While Egypt thought they had scored a third goal that could have given them a significant lead, the referee canceled it after signaling a foul by Marwan Attia at the start of the play. This decision is seen as incomprehensible by the Egyptian camp.
The Pharaohs also denounce another controversial situation that preceded Argentina’s third goal. They claim Mohamed Salah was fouled, with no whistle blown, at the start of the play that ended with Enzo Fernandez scoring in the dying seconds of the match. The Egyptian team also criticizes VAR for not intervening to review this phase of play.
These two decisions sparked outrage on the Egyptian bench. Tensions rose in the final minutes, leading to the expulsion of a staff member, Saafan Elsaghir, during stoppage time. For Egyptian officials, these alleged mistakes changed the course of a match that their team was controlling until then.
After the match, coach Hossam Hassan did not hide his frustration. Speaking to beIN Sports, he felt Egypt deserved a different result. “We were the better team. What happened was neither just nor fair,” he stated.
The Egyptian coach also hinted at the possibility of outside influences affecting the match. He suggested that some parties might want to see Argentina, the reigning world champion, continue their journey, especially with Lionel Messi in the competition.
“Maybe they wanted to keep the world champion in the tournament? Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the running?” Hossam Hassan said, highly critical of the tournament’s officiating organization.
Forward Mostafa Ziko also expressed his bitterness after this elimination. In a statement reported by the BBC, he said, “The injustice was clear” and claimed that certain elements of the tournament felt like a pre-written script.
On the pitch, however, Egypt had long believed they were achieving a historic feat. The Pharaohs started the match perfectly, taking a two-goal lead and seemed close to qualifying for the quarter-finals.
🚨🚨 EGYPT 🇪🇬 HAS FILED A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE REFEREEING AFTER THE MATCH AGAINST ARGENTINA 🇦🇷! 😤
They demand an investigation after several decisions they consider wrong:
👉 the goal disallowed for Mostafa Ziko (58th) for a foul by Marwan Attia at the origin of the… pic.twitter.com/iLBu4o82BT
But Argentina pulled off an incredible turnaround in the final minutes. Cristian Romero reduced the deficit in the 79th minute, before Lionel Messi equalized four minutes later. In stoppage time, Enzo Fernández secured qualification for the Albiceleste.
With this spectacular victory, Argentina continues its journey in the tournament and will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Egypt hopes to get answers from FIFA regarding the refereeing decisions that fueled their anger.
