French referee François Letexier threw the principle of fair play against the wall and led Argentina to defeat Egypt's national team 2-3 with his unjust and biased decisions, eliminating the Pharaohs from the round of 16.
The referee who disallowed a goal for Egypt and refused to award a penalty before Argentina's third goal in a play identical to the white goal he rejected showed the ugly face of football, assisted by his compatriot Jérôme Brisard, the VAR referee.
The French referee has been linked to many suspicious incidents, which prompted Argentine media to criticize his appointment for the match and pressure him.
The referee was the protagonist of a controversial incident in August 2022 in the match between Saint-Étienne and Le Havre in the second division, which ended with a historic loss for the former after three players were sent off, in addition to a member of the technical staff.
In an incident similar to what happened in the Egypt-Argentina match, the referee assassinated Nantes club after refusing to award them a penalty for a handball by a Nice defender in a match played in October 2023.
Before the end of the match, he awarded a penalty to Nice in a play similar to the penalty he refused to award to Nantes and sent off one of their players.
Because of this match, the referee was threatened with death due to the similarity between the two plays, the disallowed one and the awarded one.
The referee repeated his controversy in the French clásico between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, sending off the former's player directly in a decision that sparked an uproar in the league.
In December 2024, Paris goalkeeper Donnarumma suffered a severe facial injury after a violent challenge from Monaco player Wilfried Singo, who was not sent off, after which the French Football Federation's refereeing administration admitted the referee's mistake.
Jérôme Brisard, the VAR referee who returned Zico's disallowed goal to the field referee from all aspects, has a similar record.
Marseille president Pablo Longoria accused French refereeing of being "planned and directed," using the word corruption, which prompted Brisard to reply, "The red line has been crossed."
Almost the most famous match of his career. Paris lost 1-0 to Marseille, and the match ended in great chaos: a mass brawl, 5 red cards, and Neymar's sending off after a VAR review, followed by accusations from Neymar against Marseille defender Álvaro González of racism. Later, L'Équipe described the match as a "refereeing failure" and noted that it featured 14 yellow cards, 5 sendings-off, and major errors.
In 2020, Brisard sparked controversy after cautioning Neymar during a Paris Saint-Germain match against Montpellier after performing a skill, which led the Brazilian player into an argument with the referee.
From the VAR, Brisard committed a grave error in Paris's second goal, and the French refereeing committee later said that the referee erred in awarding the goal.
