Hani Abu Rida, President of the Egyptian Football Association, filed a complaint with FIFA, the International Football Association, against Frenchman François Letkexir, the referee of the Egypt-Argentina match in the World Cup.
Egypt lost 3-2 to Argentina in the match held this evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
Hani Abu Rida demanded an investigation into the referee due to the grave refereeing errors he committed against the Egyptian national team against Argentina.
Hani Abu Rida confirmed in statements sent to journalists that the referee was applying double standards, which caused the Egyptian national team to lose the match and exit the World Cup.
Abu Rida also demanded an investigation into the entire refereeing crew, including the video assistant referees, due to the blatant errors and the insistence on not reviewing some incidents that we believe are in favor of the Egyptian national team and in which we see the Pharaohs' right to a valid goal and a penalty kick.
Abu Rida demanded the exclusion of the referee and the entire crew from the World Cup after investigating these errors and proving the crime of discrimination against the Egyptian national team and causing its loss of the match and its exit from the tournament.
Abu Rida praised the performance of the Egyptian national team players, describing them as heroes and their performance as historic against the title holders, while at the same time expressing his apology to the Egyptian people and Egyptian football fans for failing to maintain the lead until the end of the match and achieve the Egyptians' dream, affirming his deep gratitude and that of all mission members for all the support the Egyptian national team received from the fans, the media, officials, and the political leadership.
