FIFA removes French referee Letexier from officiating the remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup after controversy over the Egypt-Argentina clash

French media reports said on Monday that the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has decided to exclude French referee Francois Letexier from the list of officials who will continue to oversee the remaining matches of the 2026 World Cup, following the major controversy surrounding his decisions during the Egypt-Argentina round-of-16 match.

The match, which ended in a 3-2 victory for Argentina, saw Egyptian objections to a number of refereeing decisions, most notably the disallowing of a goal by Mostafa Ziko, the failure to award a penalty in favor of Mohamed Salah, and the lack of recourse to Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology in some controversial incidents.

According to the French reports, the exclusion of Letexier and his colleague Clement Turpin is not linked only to the events of the match, but also came as a result of France's qualification for the semi-finals, as FIFA regulations prohibit appointing referees from the same nationality as teams still competing in the tournament to officiate the remaining matches.

Only French referee Jerome Brisard will continue his duties within the tournament's officiating team, in his capacity as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).