PARIS.- The Egyptian Football Federation asked the FIFA exclude the French referee François Letexier for the rest of the World Cup 2026, denouncing “flagrant refereeing errors” during the round of 16 loss on Tuesday by Egypt against Argentina (3-2).
Through its president Hany About Ridathe Federation asked FIFA to open an investigation into Letexier “following the flagrant refereeing errors committed by the refereeing team and the application of double standards, which led to the defeat of the Egyptian team,” the institution said in a statement.
The leader requested that the central referee, his assistants and the referees of the VAR not officiate any more matches in the World Cup “after an investigation into these errors and the confirmation of an act of discrimination towards Egypt.”
He especially regrets “the stubborn refusal” of the central referee to “review certain actions”, which in the opinion of the Egyptian football boss should have resulted in “a valid goal and a penalty” for the “Pharaohs”.
In the match, Letexier annulled a goal from the Egyptian Mostafa Zico at the beginning of the second half, after the intervention of the VAR, due to a foul at the start of the action.
Egypt also considers that it should have been compensated with a penalty in extra time for a grab on the shirt of Hamdy Fathy and for a contact between Julian Alvarez and Mohamed Salah in the Argentine area, just before the third Albiceleste goal.
At the end of the match, the Egypt coach, Hossam Hassanlamented an arbitration that was “neither fair nor equitable.”
“It seems that the Argentine team has put pressure on the referee. This has been the result,” protested the coach.
Losses increase in the Premier
The accumulated losses before the payment of taxes of the clubs of the Premier League increased by more than 600% in one year, according to the annual balance of football finances published on Wednesday by the consulting firm Deloitte.
In the 2023-2024 season, the losses of the English first division clubs were 135 million pounds (157 million euros or 171 million dollars) and in the following year (2024-2025) they skyrocketed to 948 million pounds (1.1 billion euros or 1.25 billion dollars).
According to Deloitte, this considerable increase is explained by transfer costs and the absence of significant profits from exceptional sales.
“In the vast majority of cases, external financing resources are now crucial to ensure liquidity,” he explains. Tim Bridgea Deloitte manager for this study.
