After Egypt’s protest…FIFA’s first decision on the referee for the Argentina match

Disputed Arbitration Events

A report has revealed that the International Football Federation (FIFA) has decided to review the refereeing of French referee Francois Letxer officiating the 2026 World Cup round of 16 match between Egypt and Argentina following an official complaint by the Egyptian Football Association.

The Egyptian federation had demanded that Lettxer and his staff be suspended from the rest of the tournament following major controversies surrounding the game, notably the disallowance of an Egyptian goal and the awarding of a penalty to Mohamed Salah before Argentina’s third goal, decisions that sparked widespread criticism.

According to the message French newspaper L’EquipeThe FIFA Referees Committee will review the entire match, assessing the referee’s technical performance, reviewing match officials’ reports, in addition to reviewing controversial refereeing personnel, before making a decision on the continued refereeing of tournament matches.

L’Equipe explained that this review comes under great pressure due to Egyptian objections and the controversy surrounding the confrontation.

The report confirms that the Egyptian federation’s demand to remove Letxer cannot be directly implemented, as the appointment and selection of referees to officiate matches is under the jurisdiction of the FIFA Referees Committee, and no national federation has the right to “veto” a specific referee.

However, the publication notes that the French referee’s future at the tournament will be determined based on the refereeing committee’s assessment of his performance.

He added that the current figures do not suggest that Letcheir will be ruled out for the game against Egypt, but he noted that there is another factor that could affect his continuation, which is France’s progress in the tournament, as in some versions it is customary for referees whose teams belong to qualifying countries not to call advanced stage matches to avoid any conflict.

L’Equipe concluded their report by confirming that Lettxer is still highly regarded on the international stage, after he officiated at the 2024 European Nations Cup final and was also crowned the 2024 World Referee of the Year, making his exit from the tournament unlikely at this time.

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