‘Rigged’ – Egypt accuse referee after World Cup loss to Argentina
Egypt striker Mostafa Zico and head coach Hossam Hassan launched a scathing attack on referee Francois Letexier after the Pharaohs’ dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Egypt surrendered a two-goal lead in Atlanta as Argentina fought back through Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to book a place in the quarter-finals.
However, the aftermath of the match was dominated by complaints from the Egyptian camp over several key officiating decisions.
Egypt question officiating decisions
The biggest flashpoint came when a goal scored by Zico was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul earlier in the move. Egypt also believed they should have been awarded a penalty after Mohamed Salah went down inside the area before Fernandez scored the stoppage-time winner.
The decisions sparked angry protests from the Egyptian bench, with one member of the coaching staff receiving a red card.
Speaking after the match, an emotional Zico questioned the referee’s performance.
“The referee wasn’t good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn’t want us to win.
“It was a rigged game. It wasn’t our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged.
“We were winning 2-0, and he kept coming at us.
“Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems.”
Zico also insisted the defeat would have been easier to accept had Argentina prevailed without controversial decisions.
“If they had won solely on their own merits it would have been very different for us.”
Hassan echoes player’s criticism
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan also criticised the officiating during his post-match press conference, claiming his side did not receive fair treatment.
“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. There seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee that has brought about this outcome.
“Life is unfair. The world is unfair. OK, but why isn’t there any fairness in sports?
“I’m not convinced by this outcome and by the way things unfolded in this match.”
The Egypt manager went further by alleging the match had been influenced in Argentina’s favour.
“This was clearly a rigged match and the whole world saw it.
“And I want to say one more thing: if they want Argentina to win this World Cup so badly why go to the bother of calling everyone else to come and play in it?”
Neither FIFA nor the match officials had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of writing.