Egypt take their fury straight to FIFA after the Letexier storm
A last-16 exit is one thing. A last-16 exit you believe was rigged is another. Egypt have gone down that second road. Federation president Hany Abo Rida has lodged a formal complaint against French referee Francois Letexier and his assistants, a move first reported by Spanish outlet AS. The Pharaohs want three things: answers on the calls that went against them, a full investigation, and Letexier’s crew pulled off the rest of the tournament. FIFA has said nothing yet.
The match itself was bedlam. Egypt had a goal chalked off with the game running their way, then screamed for a foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s winner. Head coach Hossam Hassan was not about to swallow it. “I will say what I think, whatever the consequences: this match was clearly fixed, and the whole world saw it. If they want Argentina to win so badly, why did they call everybody here to take part?” Raw stuff, spoken minutes after the whistle. It was everywhere within the hour.
Sleep did not cool him down. Hassan went again the next day. “We deserved to win. Argentina put pressure on the referee before the match because he was French. They created a tense atmosphere and we paid the price. A penalty for us was waved away without even being checked by VAR. The second goal was ruled out for a reason nobody can explain. Life is unfair.” That is a camp that feels robbed.
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Why the Letexier appointment lit the fuse before kickoff
The choice of Letexier had ruffled feathers before a ball was even kicked. Argentina had fretted about drawing a French official, a hangover from the bad blood that has run between the two nations since the 2022 final. Then FIFA handed an Argentine referee the France v Morocco quarter-final. In several dressing rooms, that was all the conspiracy talk needed.
Now the ball sits with FIFA. The governing body has to respond to the Egyptian allegations and decide whether Letexier and his team stay or go. Plenty of people around this World Cup will be watching how that plays out, because officiating has spent this tournament under a very bright light.
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