Published July 8th, 2026 - 04:51 GMT
ALBAWABA - French referee François Letexier, 37, closed his Instagram account after accusations of unfair refereeing during the World Cup 2026 match between Argentina and Egypt.Argentina played against the Egypt national team in the round of 16 on July 7 at Atlanta Stadium (officially known as Mercedes-Benz Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia and won 3-2.During the game, the French referee refused to go to the VAR to check on what was described as a clear error by the Argentina team blatant errors and the insistence on not reviewing some footage that the Egyptian federation believes deserved to award a valid goal and a penalty kick to the Egyptian national team.During a FIFA game, the French referee refused to consult VAR to review what was described as a clear error by the Argentina team against the Egyptian team. Meanwhile, François Letexier didn't count a goal for Egypt after a similar error, sparking fury among thousands of World Cup fans over whether he intended to help Messi win the match.Referee Francois Letexier shows a red card to team official Saafan Elsaghir of Egypt during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. Buda Mendes/Getty Images/AFPFans who were shocked by the unfair officiating against Egypt found the official account of French referee François Letexier and launched a massive campaign, flooding him with comments accusing him of unfairness.According to some activists and influencers, the last post by François Letexier had only 12 comments, and after a few hours of the match, the referee had over 17,000 comments complaining about his bias towards the Argentina team.After the tons of backlash, François Letexier shut down his Instagram account. Additionally, the Egyptian Football Association, led by Hani Abu Rida, said that it has submitted an official complaint with FIFA against referee François Letexier, who officiated the Egypt-Argentina match.
