Egyptian FA 'demand exclusion' of officials after 'serious refereeing mistakes' in 2026 FIFA World Cup loss to Argentina - 'Double standards'

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The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) are demanding an investigation into the officials who oversaw their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the furious Pharaohs claiming "double standards" were at play.

‘Everything went against us’ - Ziko questions refereeing as Argentina comeback stuns Egypt

Video credit: SNTV

The Egyptians led after 15 minutes through a goal from Yasser Ibrahim, with Lionel Messi failing to convert a penalty six minutes later.

In the second half, Mostafa Ziko believed he had doubled his country’s lead but a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention saw the goal ruled out.

The officials decided that Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia had stepped on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez’s foot in the build-up to the goal, so the strike was ruled out.

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While that was part of the complaint, Egypt felt that they had been mistreated in similar circumstances.

Enzo Fernandez grabbed a 93rd-minute winner and the Egyptian FA and players were left outraged as they believed that Mohamed Salah had been fouled before the goal in the Argentina penalty area.

Messi admits feeling he 'let down the group' after missed penalty in epic Egypt clash

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An EFA statement read: "Hany Abou Rida, president of the Egyptian football federation, filed a complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into the French referee Francois Letexier after the serious refereeing mistakes committed by the team of referees and double standards, which caused the Egypt team to lose the match and leave the World Cup."

The EFA said there were "blatant errors" with the referee "insisting on not reviewing some of the footage".

They also "demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these mistakes" which included "the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team".

After the match, manager Hossam Hassan said that his side were not treated "fair" and said the defeat felt "unjust".

"Even if the goals came from mistakes, the biggest mistake is not getting what you're entitled to from those responsible for making the decisions," he said.

"I'm the type of person who hates losing. And when it's a defeat that feels unjust like today's, I can only tell the fans not to be upset. We wanted so much to give them more joy," he added.

"But what made me happy was that my players followed the game plan ⁠on many occasions and worked very well."

Ziko felt similarly, adding: "The match was in our hands and slipped away at the last moment. Strange things happened on the pitch. So, thank God. I am proud of every player and every single person in this squad, and proud of the Egyptian people who followed us all over the world.

"We were hard done by [the referee] today and everyone saw that. I won't talk about something like this. We were winning 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us.

"I don't even know why the second goal was disallowed, I don't see any reason for it. But we must look for a solution so that a second goal doesn't come. He wanted to disallow the third one too, but thank God, God didn't grant him success."

Arguments over refereeing have become more prominent in recent days at the World Cup.

An intervention from Donald Trump took place before the United States striker Folarin Balogun had a red card suspended.

France were critical of the officiating in their 1-0 win over Paraguay, believing the South Americans were given lenient treatment for what they saw as an overly physical approach to the match.

Argentina will take on Switzerland in their quarter-final tie.

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