Overview
- Argentina overturned a 0–2 deficit to beat Egypt 3–2 with a stoppage-time Enzo Fernández goal, a result that prompted the Egyptian Football Association to file an official complaint over key refereeing decisions.
- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan publicly suggested there may have been pressure on the referee after the match, and the national federation said several incidents raised serious doubts about consistency and impartiality.
- On Thursday FIFA refereeing director Pierluigi Collina published a formal rebuttal defending French referee François Letexier and the VAR team and saying FIFA refereeing cannot be influenced by anyone, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
- Collina explained the VAR-led review that annulled Egypt’s goal found a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez during the attacking phase and said the contact between Mohamed Salah and Julián Álvarez before Argentina’s winner was judged normal football contact.
- The Egyptian complaint remains on file and no match decisions or official sanctions have been changed, while FIFA stressed that unfounded public accusations risk provoking threats to officials and their families.