2026 World Cup: Egypt Lashes Out at Referee: “They Wanted to Keep Messi in the Running”
Egypt’s disappointment following its 3-2 loss to Argentina has turned into an open controversy. At the end of the match, several members of the Egyptian national team strongly criticized the officiating of French referee François Letexier, accusing him of mismanaging the game and questioning the VAR’s decision to disallow the Africans’ goal.
The first to voice his anger was Zizo, who scored Egypt’s goal—the one later disallowed due to a foul on Lisandro Martinez during the build-up. “The referee kept stopping us on the field, silencing us. In fact, I want to congratulate Argentina on becoming champions once again. It’s not fair; it’s a huge injustice,” said the Egyptian player.
Head coach Hossam Hassan was even harsher, criticizing the use of technology in particular: “Using VAR this way (editor’s note: referring to the disallowed goal) is what frustrates the fans, because today it seems like they’re always looking for a way or a reason to disallow goals. Instead of talking about Egypt’s goal, everyone is discussing the referees. Decisions like this can change the entire course of a World Cup. I completely disagree with that decision. This is a knockout match, and they disallowed a very important goal for something that, in my opinion, doesn’t justify the call.”
The Egyptian coach then doubled down: “Maybe they wanted to keep the world champions in the tournament? Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in the running? In soccer, sometimes there are external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level. I told the referee that what was happening wasn’t fair.”
Goalkeeper Mohamed Shobeir, on the other hand, reacted differently; he delivered an extraordinary performance with numerous decisive saves before finally conceding to the Argentine goals. The goalkeeper chose to focus on the sporting disappointment: “We were so close to victory. It’s the small details that make the difference, and we’re very sad because we had the game in hand.”
