The officiating team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt has found itself at the center of a major controversy. Egypt suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat despite leading 2-0, after which, according to media reports, the Egyptian Football Association filed an official complaint with FIFA over the performance of French referee François Letexier and his assistants.
According to İdman.Biz, Egypt's complaints concerned several controversial incidents. One of the key moments was the disallowed goal by Mostafa Zico when Egypt led 1-0. The goal was ruled out following a VAR review for a foul in the attacking phase, although the Egyptian side considered the decision highly debatable. Egypt still managed to score a second goal, but Argentina produced an incredible comeback, with Cristian Romero reducing the deficit in the 79th minute, Lionel Messi equalizing in the 83rd, and Enzo Fernandez scoring the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
Another controversial episode occurred late in the match. According to the Egyptian side, head coach Hossam Hassan made FIFA's anti-racism gesture by crossing his arms above his head, a signal introduced under FIFA's anti-racism protocol to alert the referee to a possible racist incident. However, play was not stopped, and Hassan himself was booked for protesting. Egypt also claimed it should have been awarded penalties, particularly after incidents involving Mohamed Salah and Hamdy Fathy inside Argentina's penalty area.
Notably, almost the entire key officiating team from this match has previously crossed paths with Azerbaijani football.
The referee, François Letexier, has already officiated matches involving Qarabag. In September 2018, he was the referee for the UEFA Europa League group-stage match between Sporting CP and Qarabag, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the Portuguese side. That match passed without any major controversies involving penalties, red cards or disallowed goals. Letexier showed only one yellow card, to Mahir Emreli. Interestingly, his assistant referees that day were the same Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni who also worked alongside him during Argentina vs Egypt.
However, Letexier has another, even more notable connection with Azerbaijani football. In October 2017, he was part of the officiating team for Qarabag's historic UEFA Champions League match against Atletico Madrid (0-0) in Baku. Although he was not the main referee, serving instead as an additional assistant referee in Ruddy Buquet's team, that game became famous for one of the most controversial moments in Qarabag's European history. Dino Ndlovu went down inside the Atletico penalty area after contact with a defender, but instead of being awarded a penalty, he received a second yellow card for simulation and was sent off. The decision sparked widespread debate throughout Azerbaijani football.
Fourth official Espen Eskås is also well known in Azerbaijan. The Norwegian officiated Azerbaijan's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Baku, which ended in a 3-0 Irish victory. He also refereed Qarabag's UEFA Champions League match against Newcastle United, where he awarded a penalty against Qarabag for handball and later allowed the Azerbaijani club's goal to stand after an offside review.
Reserve assistant referee Isak Bashevkin has also worked on Qarabag matches. He was on the line during Qarabag's 3-0 victory over Dundalk in the 2019 UEFA Champions League qualifiers before joining Eskås's team for the Qarabag vs Newcastle match.
Argentina vs Egypt AVAR1 Willy Delajod has likewise made important decisions in matches involving an Azerbaijani club. The French referee officiated Tottenham Hotspur's UEFA Europa League match against Qarabag in September 2024. Early in the game he sent off Tottenham defender Radu Drăgușin for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and later awarded Qarabag a penalty in the second half. Toral Bayramov failed to convert the spot kick, and Tottenham eventually won 3-0 despite playing with ten men.
VAR official Jérôme Brisard also has Qarabag experience. He served as the video assistant referee during Qarabag's UEFA Champions League qualifying match against Ferencváros in 2025. It was another dramatic encounter, with Qarabag losing 3-2 but progressing on aggregate. During the match, Ferencváros were awarded a penalty, which Barnabás Varga converted.
Another member of the VAR team, Belgian official Bram Van Driessche, worked as VAR during Benfica's UEFA Champions League match against Qarabag in the opening round of the 2025 competition. That game became one of the greatest victories in the Azerbaijani club's European history, as Qarabag came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Lisbon.
The "Azerbaijani connection" within the Argentina vs Egypt officiating team is therefore impossible to ignore. Letexier, Mugnier and Rahmouni had previously worked together on a Qarabag Europa League match; Eskås and Bashevkin have officiated both Azerbaijan national team and Qarabag fixtures; Delajod made key decisions in Tottenham vs Qarabag; while Brisard and Van Driessche served as VAR officials during Qarabag's Champions League matches. The most controversial incident involving Azerbaijani football and this group of officials, however, remains the 2017 Qarabag vs Atletico Madrid match, in which Letexier served as an additional assistant referee rather than the main official.
