French referee François Letexier sparked controversy after his refereeing decisions during the Egypt vs Argentina match in the World Cup.
The Egyptian national team bid farewell to the World Cup in the round of 16 after losing to Argentina 3-2.
The referee disallowed a goal for Egypt's Mustafa Zico in the 58th minute, citing a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina's Lisandro Martínez.
He also ignored a penalty appeal for Mohamed Salah in the second minute of stoppage time, allowing the ball to rebound and Argentina to score their third goal.
Former England striker Alan Shearer criticized the referee's decisions, demanding that either both fouls be awarded or both ignored.
French reports had earlier criticized referee Letexier's decisions.
The referee officiated the Saint-Étienne vs Lyon match in Ligue 1 in April 2025.
Letexier showed Saint-Étienne player Lucas Stassin a red card for a violent challenge on Lyon's Corentin Tolisso.
However, French referee François Letexier returned to the video assistant referee to review the incident.
Letexier decided to cancel the red card and issue a yellow card instead.
The French Football Federation's Technical Refereeing Department announced that Lucas Stassin deserved to be sent off.
The Technical Refereeing Department (DTA) is the main organizational body responsible for managing and developing the refereeing system under the French Football Federation.
The refereeing department considered the referee's decision an error.
The committee also believed there was no justification for calling referee François Letexier by his fellow video referees Willy Delajod and Ludovic Rémy to review the incident.
The refereeing committee's report indicates errors by François Letexier and the video assistant referee regarding that mistake.
In another match between Marseille and Monaco, Marseille player Igor Paixão was brought down by Monaco right-back Vanderson in the 16th round of Ligue 1 at the "Vélodrome" stadium.
The incident was described by French reports as a "rugby tackle," but referee Letexier did not send off the Monaco player.
A penalty was also not awarded for a handball against Mohamed Salisu during a Mason Greenwood attempt for Marseille in the 70th minute.
The referee also disallowed a goal for Monaco scored by Lamine Camara in the 51st minute, which surprised the crowd, citing an offside by Folarin Balogun, although Balogun did not touch the ball until it hit the net.
Le but refusé de Lamine Camara pic.twitter.com/FsnVC1MfES
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 15, 2025
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique and the French champions' players also launched a strong attack on referee François Letexier during the team's match against Monaco in December 2024.
The referee did not show a red card to Monaco player Wilfried Singo after his strong challenge on Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the time.
Letexier believed the contact was accidental and not intentional, allowing him to stay on the pitch without showing any card, despite the Monaco player already having a yellow card before that play.
PSG captain Marquinhos said in post-match comments: "Not giving a red card in such a situation is a big decision. I don't know if the referee was in a bad position, but VAR should have intervened to protect the players."
Enrique said, "When you see a play like this, it's tough."
