Egypt have filed a formal complaint to FIFA after their 2-3 defeat to Argentina, turning a wild comeback into a refereeing row. Egypt were 2-0 up with 11 minutes left before Argentina scored three unanswered goals, and their protest focuses on a disallowed goal, a penalty-box challenge on Mohamed Salah and a request for Francois Letexier's officiating team to be removed from the rest of the competition.

The complaint Egypt have lodged

The verified result from Argentina vs Egypt is clear enough: Argentina won 2-3. What followed was a formal complaint from Egypt, who believe the decisive moments in the closing stages went against them.

Zico, speaking to metro.co.uk, said: "The referee wasn't good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn't want us to win."

Hossam Hassan made the same case in more detail. He told metro.co.uk: "A penalty was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. We have all seen the shirt pulled back and not even a VAR check."

Egypt's complaint includes a request that Francois Letexier and his team be excluded from the remainder of the competition. That remains a request, not a confirmed FIFA decision.

There is some disagreement in the reporting over whether FIFA had already acted, but the solid part is narrower than that: Egypt filed the complaint, and no confirmed decision had been announced at the time those reports were published.

The flashpoints from the match

The biggest incident for Egypt came just before the winner. Julián Alvarez tackled Salah inside the penalty area before Argentina went up the other end and scored. Egypt have framed that as a missed penalty call and part of the reason they escalated the dispute to FIFA.

Their frustration had already built earlier in the game. M. Ziko had a goal disallowed after VAR judged Argentina's [Lisandro Martinez] had been fouled in the build-up, and Ziko later still scored Egypt's second. Across those two moments, he was central to the match's most disputed attacking phases.

Argentina's comeback was dramatic enough on its own. They were 2-0 down, then scored three times to win 3-2. But the finish has not really been about game management or late pressure. Egypt's reaction has dragged the officiating to the front of the story.

There is one point that should not be muddled. The verified match events credit Enzo Fernández with the late winner at 90+2, not Alvarez.

Argentina's win and the fallout around it

For Argentina, the football side of this was a serious escape. They looked beaten before the late surge, and Lionel Messi was rated 9.0, the highest on the pitch, as the game swung back toward the holders.

Hossam Hassan went further than simply criticising the officiating. He told mirror.co.uk: "It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist in the tournament."

That kind of claim is obviously explosive, but it is still just that, a claim from Egypt's coach after the match. The firmer ground is the complaint itself and the incidents attached to it.

Egypt now have the result recorded as a 2-3 defeat, while the refereeing dispute sits with FIFA. Argentina have the win. Egypt have demanded answers, and the request on Letexier's team had not been confirmed as accepted when those reports emerged.

FAQ

Why did Egypt file a FIFA complaint after the Argentina match?

Egypt filed a formal complaint after the 3-2 loss to Argentina because they believe key refereeing decisions went against them. Their protest centres on a disallowed goal, a penalty-box incident involving Mohamed Salah and Julián Alvarez, and their request for Francois Letexier's officiating team to be excluded from the rest of the competition.

Was Mohamed Salah denied a penalty against Argentina?

Egypt say Mohamed Salah was tackled by Julián Alvarez inside the box before Argentina's late winner and Hossam Hassan complained that the incident was not properly reviewed. The article does not state it was definitely a penalty, only that Egypt made it a central part of their complaint.

Who scored Argentina's late winner against Egypt?

The verified match events listed Enzo Fernández as the scorer of Argentina's late winner, a header at 90+2. That point matters because some reports created confusion around the decisive goal, but the match record used here credits Fernández.

Did FIFA remove the referee after Egypt's complaint?

No decision had been confirmed. Egypt requested that Francois Letexier and his team be excluded from the remainder of the competition, but the reporting cited here does not show FIFA agreeing to that request or announcing a formal sanction.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 11 outlets. How we work →