Egypt Erupts Over Refereeing After Heartbreaking World Cup Loss to Argentina

Egypt’s World Cup exit turned ugly — and not just because of the scoreline. The Africans blew a 2-0 lead against defending champions Argentina in the Round of 16, with Lionel Messi scoring and assisting, and Enzo Fernández netting a dramatic stoppage-time winner. But instead of focusing on Argentina’s comeback, the post-match talk was dominated by a furious Egyptian camp accusing referee François Letexier of bias and even suggesting the tournament was rigged. Head coach Hossam Hassan didn’t hold back. “We were the better side, but internal and external factors decided the outcome. Maybe they wanted the world champions to stay in the tournament. Maybe they wanted Messi to stay,” he said. Hassan revealed Egypt had objected to the appointment of the French official before kickoff, citing the history between Argentina and France in the 2022 final. After the game, he confronted Letexier and accused him of hiding something. The Egyptians pointed to three decisive incidents: a baffling disallowed goal, a penalty shout for a foul on Mohamed Salah that VAR ignored (Argentina immediately counter-attacked and scored), and an obvious foul by Alexis Mac Allister that went unpunished just before Fernández’s winner. Striker Mostafa Zico went even further. “Congratulations Argentina on winning the World Cup! The tournament is fixed. The referee was unjust. He devalues the effort of an entire nation. They just took the cup and shamelessly handed it to Argentina!” Goalkeeper Mustafa Shobeir, while acknowledging the frustrations, admitted his side made tactical mistakes in the final ten minutes against a top opponent. Egypt did end Argentina’s 44-month unbeaten run at World Cups, but that provided little consolation.