Someone hijacked the Argentine Football Association’s email system and used it to send angry messages about refereeing decisions. The AFA says it wasn’t them. A hacker group says it was, and claims to have a lot more than just email access.
The breach came to light after Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the last-16 round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 8. Unauthorized emails were sent from AFA’s institutional accounts criticizing referee Francois Letexier’s officiating and alleging corrupt decisions influenced the match outcome.
What the hackers claim to have
The attack has been attributed to a group operating under the alias “Hossam Hassan,” which claimed responsibility for infiltrating AFA’s systems. The group says it stole the organization’s database, a trove that reportedly includes emails, hashed passwords, national IDs, phone numbers, IP addresses, and profile pictures.
Hashed passwords are better than plaintext ones, but depending on the hashing algorithm used, they can still be cracked. National IDs and phone numbers paired with email addresses create a particularly dangerous combination for phishing and identity theft.
