The Argentina v Egypt rigging claim has now drawn a formal response from FIFA after a tense Round of 16 meeting that left Egypt furious, Argentina through, and the refereeing team under fire.
Egypt’s anger centered on two major calls by French referee François Letexier. First, Egypt had a goal ruled out after VAR spotted a disputed foul in the buildup. Later, Letexier chose not to review an alleged foul on Mohamed Salah inside Argentina’s penalty area shortly before Enzo Fernández scored Argentina’s winning goal in the 93rd minute.
Why Egypt filed a complaint
The Egyptian Football Association moved quickly after the match, filing an official complaint with FIFA over the decisions that shaped the closing stages.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan went further, calling the match “clearly rigged.” Striker Mostafa Ziko also criticized the officiating, describing it as completely unfair.
That language only heated things up around a match that already had plenty of drama. The complaint put FIFA under pressure to respond not just to the individual calls, but to the bigger claim that the result was influenced.
FIFA stands behind its officials
FIFA responded through Pierluigi Collina, its chief refereeing officer, in comments shared by FIFA Media on X. Collina rejected the suggestion that referees at the 2026 World Cup could be swayed by outside pressure.
“Nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone,” Collina said.
He also backed the officials, saying: “Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.”
Former England referee chief Keith Hackett also dismissed the idea that the game had been rigged, calling such suggestions unreasonable. His view matches FIFA’s position: the calls can be argued over, but the governing body is not accepting claims of manipulation.
What the dispute means now
For Egypt, the frustration is easy to understand. A disallowed goal, a rejected penalty review, and a stoppage-time winner are the kind of sequence that can make a knockout defeat feel especially cruel.
For FIFA, the priority is simple: defend its refereeing setup and VAR process before one controversial match turns into a bigger credibility problem.
The complaint keeps the issue alive, but FIFA’s message is firm. It sees the Argentina match as a matter of judgment calls and VAR procedure, not evidence of a rigged result. Whether that satisfies Egypt is another question entirely, and probably not one that will be resolved by a neatly worded statement.
