VAR row: Egypt lodge complaint with FIFA after Lionel Messi’s Argentina loss, asking referee to be banned from World Cup

Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) argues with referee Francois Letexier of France during the Round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo) The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has reportedly lodged a formal complaint with FIFA against referee Francois Letexier following Egypt’s 3-2 defeat by Argentina in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup in Atlanta on Tuesday.Egypt looked set for one of the biggest wins in their World Cup history after taking a 2-0 lead. However, Argentina fought back in the final minutes as Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up another before Enzo Fernandez scored the winner in stoppage time to send the defending champions through to the quarter-finals.The Egyptian camp was unhappy with several refereeing decisions during the match. These included a goal disallowed after a VAR review and a penalty appeal that was not reviewed in the build-up to Argentina’s winning goal.According to Spanish publication Diario AS, the president of the Egyptian Football Association, Hany Abo Rida, has lodged a formal complaint with FIFA against French referee Francois Letexier and his refereeing team.The report states that the EFA has asked FIFA to investigate what it considers to be a controversial decision during the match. It also called for Letexier and his officiating team to be removed from the rest of the tournament, saying they had made major mistakes.After the match, Egyptian coach Hassan also questioned several refereeing decisions, suggesting that factors outside the game itself influenced the result.“We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan said. “Maybe they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Maybe they wanted Messi to stay the course,” he said at the post-match press conference.“In football, sometimes there are external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level,” he added.Argentina completed a comeback after trailing 2–0 with 11 minutes of regulation time remaining to secure a 3–2 victory and progress to the quarterfinals.Egypt went through with goals from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. The African side also had another goal disallowed after a VAR review, which proved significant as Argentina recovered to win the match.Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.