Following their heartbreaking elimination from the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the hands of Argentina, Egyptian players, coaches and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have strongly criticised the match officials.
Egypt led 2-0 with just 11 minutes remaining before Argentina staged a dramatic comeback to win 3-2. The North Africans were left furious after having a goal ruled out following a VAR review, while claiming two penalty appeals were ignored, sparking controversy over the consistency and application of the Video Assistant Referee system.
Egyptian striker Mostafa Ziko, who scored one of his side’s goals and also had another controversially disallowed, slammed referee Francois Letexier for what he described as “unfair” officiating. He also alleged that the tournament was rigged in Argentina’s favour.
“No fair, no fair. Referee, no fair. He is completely unfair,” Ziko said while shedding tears in a post-match interview.
He continued: “A clear and obvious injustice. He’s wasting the effort of a whole country right from the start of the match. He is biased against us. We can’t; we can’t get knocked out like this when we are winning two-nil against Argentina. It is a rigged tournament.”
Hassan and EFA speak out
Head coach Hossam Hassan also questioned the officiating.
“Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice,” he said, adding that he would no longer watch the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said it would not remain silent over what it described as “unfair” officiating during the match against Argentina.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the EFA said it “cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.
“A number of football experts and specialist analysts, both locally and internationally, have highlighted controversial and influential refereeing incidents during the match.”
READ ALSO: Argentina Knock Out Egypt in Controversial World Cup Thriller
