Egypt is formally challenging the results of its dramatic Round of 16 loss to Argentina, with the country's football federation calling for a FIFA investigation into referee François Letexier and his crew following Tuesday's 3-2 defeat.
In a statement released Wednesday, Egyptian Football Association (EFA) president Hany Abo Rida said the federation had submitted a complaint to FIFA, alleging that critical officiating errors and inconsistent decision-making played a major role in Egypt's elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The controversy began early in the match when Mostafa Ziko appeared to give Egypt the lead, only for the goal to be overturned after a VAR review determined that Lisandro Martínez had been fouled during the buildup.
Ziko later found the net again, helping Egypt build a 2-0 advantage and putting the Pharaohs within reach of what would have been their first-ever World Cup quarterfinal appearance.
Argentina, however, mounted a comeback behind late goals from Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi before Enzo Fernández scored the decisive winner.
Egypt's biggest grievance came moments before Fernández's goal. The EFA argues Hamdy Fathy was pulled down inside the penalty area by Alexis Mac Allister and believes the incident warranted a penalty kick. According to the federation, the officiating team failed to properly review the play despite video evidence.
The EFA said its complaint requests an investigation into the entire officiating crew, including the VAR officials, over what it described as significant mistakes and inconsistent standards throughout the match. The federation also asked FIFA to remove the refereeing team from the remainder of the tournament if its investigation confirms the alleged errors.
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan voiced similar frustrations after the final whistle.
"I do not want to put it nicely and talk about hard luck," Hassan told reporters. "We have been cheated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice."
He continued, "We haven't seen respect or fair play."
Speaking later with beIN Sports, Hassan suggested the tournament favorites may have benefited from circumstances beyond the action on the field.
"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 not publicly commented on Egypt's complaint.
