FIFA says it has made an emergency review of the round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt and has come to the conclusion that the referee, Francois Le Texier and his officiating team has to give way in the remaining matches of the ongoing FIFA 2026 World Cup.
Gianni Infantino FIFA president,disclosed this in a press statement on Wednesday.
He regretted the grave injustice done to the Egyptian team by the refereeing crew which included the multiple yellow cards given to them while Argentina did not receive any “single yellow card” despite the number of fouls it commited.
Infantino noted in addition, the penalty that was disallowed for Egypt saying that ” these incidents seriously undermine the credibility of the match”
While acknowledging that Egypt ” pushed Argentina the defending champions to the limit and earned the respect of the football team world ” Infantino said that the review unfortunately cannot change the decision of the result of the match but added ” but we must draw a clear line when it comes to fairness”
” Following emergency review,we are considering removing Francoise and his officiating team from all remaining matches of this FIFA World Cup. The decision was not made out of public pressure,it was made after a thorough review of the match footage during the Argentina versus Egypt round of 16 match. The officiating displayed significant and difficult to explain inconsistencies. Argentina committed 13 fouls without receiving a single yellow card, while Egypt received multiple yellow cards and their assistant coach sent off. A goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review and a penalty appeal inside the box was waved away. Take together, these incidents seriously undermine the credibility of the match.
“To the people of Egypt,I want to say this, your team pushed the defending champions to the limit and earned the respect of the entire football world. This decision cannot change the result, but we must draw a clear line when it comes to fairness “… Infantino said.
