Egyptian national team head coach Hossam Hassan launched a fierce attack on French referee Francois Letexier following Egypt's 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16. Hassan claimed that the match lacked fair officiating.
Hossam Hassan stated that the Egyptian team lost for "marketing reasons," suggesting there was a desire for Argentina to advance, which he believes influenced the refereeing decisions and overall management of the game.
Midfielder Emam Ashour also criticized the referee's performance, arguing that Mustafa Ziko's disallowed goal was unjustified and stating that Egypt deserved a penalty on a play just before Argentina's winning goal.
Several incidents during the match provoked objections from the Egyptian team, notably the disallowance of Ziko's goal after a VAR review cited a foul earlier in the play, and calls for a penalty in the dying moments after contacts in the penalty area preceding Enzo Fernandez's counterattack winning goal.
Despite demands from the coaching staff and players to review the incident via VAR, the referee did not consult the review screen, instead issuing a red card to goalkeeping coach Saafan El Saghir amid broad protests from Egypt's coaching team and players.
The game's officiating sparked controversy among Egyptian fans, who felt that certain refereeing decisions directly impacted the match's outcome, while there has been no official comment from FIFA regarding Egypt's grievances.