FIFA World Cup 2026 refereeing controversy follows Argentina as semi-final vs England nears

FIFA has come under the scanner once again as Argentina gear up to face off against England in the World Cup 2026 semi-final in Atlanta. The world body has appointed Moroccan-American referee Ismail Elfath to officiate the match, drawing criticism from social media. Elfath predominantly plies his trade in the MLS and Lionel Messi remains unbeaten in all five matches officiated by him. Elfath served as the fourth official during the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in Qatar, where Argentina defeated France to lift the trophy. He also officiated the Leagues Cup final in which Inter Miami defeated Nashville SC to claim the club's first-ever trophy. The match officials for @FIFAWorldCup match 102 have been appointed. — FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 13, 2026 The criticism comes on the background of growing claims of Argentina getting the rub of the green in many controversial moments over the last two World Cup editions. Argentina's win over Egypt was marred by controversy, while Messi earlier escaped a red card in the same game he scored a hat-trick. The controversy comes at a time when FIFA is facing fresh scrutiny following allegations related to corruption and governance. Separately, reports have also highlighted accusations of money laundering involving officials linked to the Argentine Football Association. Lionel Messi Under Scanner After Egypt Coach Triggers FIFA's Anti-Racism Protocol Amid Escalating Tensions At FIFA World Cup 2026 | VideoSocial media platforms were flooded with reactions soon after FIFA confirmed the officiating team for the blockbuster clash. Many users sarcastically suggested that FIFA had once again sided with Argentina and their cheating was blatantly obvious. While the claims remain speculation, Messi would hope that his lucky record continues, with Argentina chasing for another World Cup title.

World Cup officials have been accused of favouring their decisions towards Argentina (AP Photo) Switzerland were furious with the ‘one-sided refereeing’ in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina on Saturday.Argentina needed extra time to secure a 3-1 win over Switzerland, who were reduced to 10 men following Breel Embolo’s controversial red card in the 72nd minute.Embolo became the first player to be sent off as a result of a new law for mistaken identity at the World Cup this summer.Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was initially given a yellow card for his challenge on Embolo as he appeared to trip the Switzerland forward. But after VAR recommended a review of the incident, Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro changed his on-field decision and gave a second yellow card to Embolo for simulation.Switzerland were unhappy over the application of the mistaken identity law, however, the International Football Association Board, which oversees the laws of football, issued an update before the World Cup to cover ‘mistaken identity’ situations where a player was given a yellow card but the offence was committed by the opposing player.Speaking after his nation’s World Cup exit, Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji was unhappy with the referee’s overall performance, claiming that several fouls and dives by Argentine players ‘went unpunished’.‘When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult,’ Akanji said. Switzerland were furious with Breel Embolo’s red card (Getty) ‘Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don’t usually say anything against the officials, but I’ve never experienced such a one-sided game as today.‘As soon as the game was over, I thought: I’m so proud of our team. What we’ve achieved throughout the entire tournament, and especially today… We played against the world champions, and they didn’t stand a chance.‘I can’t recall a single scoring opportunity from open play where we were lucky. If the game had continued 11 against 11, it would have likely gone in our favour.’ Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji described referee Joao Pinheiro’s performance as ‘one-sided'(Reuters) Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin said: ‘After the equaliser, we clearly had the momentum on our side. Unfortunately, this was punished by a refereeing error. The referee shouldn’t have given the Argentinian a yellow card in that situation.‘There’s no reason for it, the incident wasn’t malicious or rough or anything like that. Then he corrects his own mistake and punishes us. That’s incomprehensible and beyond my comprehension.‘The decision is baffling to me, there was no reason for it. It’s a shame. We missed a great opportunity, and unfortunately, the journey is over. It hurts, but we can be proud. These are my great heroes.’Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said: ‘It’s a huge decision that completely changes the game. It hurts a lot.‘The rules are the rules. We can’t change them. But with this decision, he killed the game. That’s my opinion. I don’t know what else the referee could have done. But he shouldn’t have done that.’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Earlier this week, FIFA also received an official complaint from Egypt over the officiating in their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last-16 on Tuesday.Egypt were furious with the decision to rule out Zico’s goal and wanted a penalty for a foul on Mohamed Salah moments before Argentina scored from a counter-attack to win the game.In his response to Egypt’s complaints, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, hit back at allegations of bias towards Argentina.‘Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials… equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino],’ he said.‘Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.’Argentina will now play England in the World Cup semi-final at 8pm BST on Wednesday.For more stories like this, check our sport page.Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

Argentina’s win was clouded in controversy (Picture: Elsa/Getty Images) Egypt have filed a formal complaint with FIFA following their World Cup defeat to Argentina, demanding the officials at the heart of the controversy be kicked out of the competition. The defending world champions were on the brink of a last 16 exit in Atlanta on Tuesday before staging a remarkable comeback. Trailing 2-0 with 11 minutes left on the clock, Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez struck to rescue La Albiceleste – setting up a quarter-final showdown with Switzerland. Should Argentina with that game, they could meet England in a titanic semi-final if the Three Lions beat Norway on Saturday. Their fightback against Egypt was clouded in controversy however with The Pharaohs denied a penalty moments before Julian Alvarez started the counter that led to Fernandez’s late winner. Don't miss a World Cup moment Wow (Picture: Getty) How do you begin to explain that? Make sense of the drama with Metro's free daily newsletter, featuring England updates, match previews and exclusive analysis. Sign up now. Alvarez tackled Mohamed Salah inside the penalty box, appearing to catch his foot before taking the ball. Immediately after as the ball broke loose, Alexis Mac Allister appeared to pull Hamdi Fathy. VAR did not appear to check either incident with Argentina scoring moments later. Egypt had already seen a goal ruled out earlier in the game after Zico capped a wonderful counter attack. A VAR checked deemed Lisandro Martinez had been fouled in the build-up. According to Argentina’s TYC Sports, president of the Egyptian Football Association Hany Abo Rida has demanded a formal investigation into the refereeing decisions. Egypt had a goal chalked off (Picture: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) As part of his complaint, he has requested the match official from Wednesday’s game, Francois Letexier, and his team be excluded from refereeing for the remainder of the competition. Egypt are demanding an investigation into their disallowed goal and the two infringements that took place moments before Argentina’s third goal. Fifa are yet to take any decision on Egypt’s request with their coaching staff and players furiously accusing the officials and the competition of favouring the defending world champions. Egypt felt huge decisions went against them (Picture: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) ‘The referee wasn’t good, he was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn’t want us to win,’ said Zico, whose goal was chalked off before scoring again later in the second-half. ‘It was a rigged game. It wasn’t our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. We were winning 2-0, and he kept coming at us. ‘Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems.’ Head coach Hossam Hassam also launched an extraordinary attack on match officials and FIFA, accusing them of going to extreme lengths to ‘to keep Messi’ in the competition. ‘We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,’ he said. ‘Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. Messi scored his eighth goal of the competition (Picture: Anadolu) ‘In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level. ‘There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered. ‘We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out, it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed. ‘We have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports? ‘I’m not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match. I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

‘Robbed’: Egypt-Argentina match sparks accusations of World Cup bias Submitted by Marwa Kocak on Tue, 07/07/2026 - 21:43 Egypt’s defeat triggered anger from players, coaches and high-profile figures who questioned Fifa's officiating Hossam Hassan, head coach for Egypt, argues with referee Francois Letexier during the Fifa World Cup 2026 round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on 7 July 2026 (Buda Mendes/Getty Images/AFP) Off Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16 has triggered controversy on and off the pitch, after Egypt’s players, coaching staff and supporters questioned several key decisions in the match. Egypt had led 2-0 and appeared on course for a place in the quarter-finals before conceding three late goals. But the result was quickly overshadowed by anger over the officiating, including an Egypt goal ruled out after a review, late penalty appeals that were waved away, and protests from the Egyptian bench before Argentina’s stoppage-time winner. The anger was also visible on the touchline, where members of Egypt’s coaching staff protested against the decisions, while players were seen arguing with officials. Online, many said the calls had denied Egypt a fair chance to advance, turning the match into one of the most debated games of the knockout stage. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan criticised the officiating after the match, saying Egypt had been the better side and that what happened was “not fair”. He questioned why Egypt’s goal was ruled out, saying the team could have gone 3-1 ahead before the score became 2-2, and suggested there was “marketing” support for the previous World Cup champions to remain in the tournament. “We did what we had to do, and I thank my players very much,” he said. "الفيفا ترفع شعار 'اللعب النظيف' ولا نراه في الملعب.. لولا الأخطاء لكانت النتيجة مختلفة."🚨🎥 حسام حسن يطلق تصريحات نارية بعد الخروج من المونديال، وينتقد محاباة الأرجنتين وميسي. pic.twitter.com/teJIMGq6Ix— كأس العالم™ (@TrendEPL) July 7, 2026 Egypt player Mustafa Ziko broke down in tears during a post-match interview, accusing the referee of being “unfair” and saying the decisions had wasted “the effort of an entire nation”. He also described the tournament as “biased”. 🚨🚨 عــــاجــل - المقابلة الصحفية لـ مصطفى زيكو و هو يبكي بحرقة بعد المباراة. 🗣 " الحكم ظالم، حسبي الله و نعم الوكيل. بيضيع مجهود بلد كاملة."" الكأس موجهة للأرجنتين." pic.twitter.com/1yqXqLbpJN— كأس العالم™ (@TrendEPL) July 7, 2026 Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and political commentator, also criticised the decisions on X, writing: “Incredible Egyptian goal is disallowed because of a foul far away, then same situation a few minutes later and goal for Argentina not disallowed! No VAR, nothing?” He added that Fifa “again looks like a corrupt joke” and accused it of “playing favorites for stars”. Incredible Egyptian goal is disallowed because of a foul far away, then same situation a few minutes later and goal for Argentina not disallowed! No VAR, nothing? FIFA again looks like a corrupt joke, playing favorites for stars.— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 7, 2026 Former prolific England striker and football pundit Alan Shearer criticised the consistency of the decisions on X, writing: “Either both are fouls or neither is a foul. But they’re not going to re-referee they told us.” Either both are fouls or neither is a foul. But they’re not going to re-referee they told us. #itsshit https://t.co/Up2xj7sXNJ— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) July 7, 2026 Dale Johnson, football issues correspondent at BBC Sport, said on X that Egypt’s disallowed goal was “completely against how this tournament has been refereed”. He said officials could not take a “light touch” approach by allowing minimal contact, then rule out a goal through VAR for “a very minimal hold of the shirt”. Egypt's disallowed goal was completely against how this tournament has been refereed.You can't have a light touch where you don't give fouls for minimal contact and then rule out a goal through VAR for a very minimal hold of the shirt.#ARGEGY— Dale Johnson (@DaleJohnsonBBC) July 7, 2026 Football analyst Geronimo Morgans wrote on X that VAR had not reviewed “two clear fouls” against Egypt players inside the Argentina box before Enzo Fernandez’s goal, while a foul had overturned Egypt’s second goal. “Why does the treatment have to be so one-sided?” he wrote, describing the match as “completely unfair” and saying: “Egypt have been robbed.” VAR didn't review two clear fouls inside the Argentinian box (against Egypt players) before Enzo Fernández's goal. Why? A foul on Martínez overturned Egypt's second goal. Why does the treatment have to be so one-sided? This is completely unfair. FIFA, be ashamed. Be genuinely…— Geronimo Morgans (@GeronimoMorgans) July 7, 2026 Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian Nobel Laureate and former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, wrote on X in Arabic that Fifa had “lost a lot of credibility and trust” for reasons “known to everyone”. للاسف الشديد فان الفيفا @fifacom_ar فقدت الكثير من المصداقية والثقة ولاسباب كثيرة يعرفها الجميع… خسارة كبيرة لرياضة جميلة يعشقها الملايين حول العالم…— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) July 7, 2026 Craig Murray, a former British ambassador and political commentator, also shared criticism on X, writing: “Not my invention, but FIFA = Fixing It For Argentina has been blatant.” Not my invention, butFIFA = Fixing It For Argentinahas been blatant.— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) July 7, 2026 Argentina will now turn their attention to the quarter-finals, while Egypt leaves the tournament after an impressive campaign that saw it remain undefeated until the round of 16, but which ended in frustration, with players, coaches and supporters insisting the team had been denied a fair chance to continue. World Cup 2026 Trending Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0

Argentina's dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 has sparked a fresh wave of controversy, with social media users accusing FIFA of favouring Lionel Messi and the defending champions. While Argentines celebrated the euphoria of a stunning win, Egypt and the rest of the world were quick to turn and point to some of the controversial decisions taken by the referee during the match. While Ziko scored the second of Egypt's goals, he had an earlier goal ruled out for a foul in the build up. Later, Egypt's appeals for a penalty were also denied. The African nation were also fuming at Enzo Fernandez's winner, which they believed should not have stood. The decisions triggered an outpouring of reactions on X, where hashtags and phrases such as "FIFA Corruption Strikes Again," "Rigged for Messi," and "Egypt were robbed" gained traction. Messi had earlier been lucky to escape a red card in the group stage, which many believe is the FIFA's favourtism towards the Argentine. Egypt was robbed in broad daylight in front of the world, with FIFA’s president watching, just for Messi. Where is the justice? Why play football if the tournament is rigged for Argentina? Pure corruption! Why are sports’ honorable voices silent?#FIFA #WorldCup #SkySports pic.twitter.com/FSv1wADFAH— Beta3 Design (@Beta3Design) July 7, 2026 He @FIFAcom @FIFAWorldCup why u conducting the world cup when you favor only one team. Your corruption ruled out very talented Egypt today.This is most corrupt world cup ever.FIFA - Fixed It For Argentina https://t.co/eyeU5a2Xin pic.twitter.com/2RBBNQBGXi— Kya_Kahu ️ (@devershit) July 7, 2026 FIFA is now a useless organisation. What is all these nonsense. Infantino should be jailed for this corruption going on.— Olowo Bristol (@i_am_yemmy) July 7, 2026 Argentina didn't win. CORRUPTION won. One Egypt's penalty and 3rd goal were denied. Shame on FIFA. shame shame shame https://t.co/i48J51ShR0— RKT (@RKT213) July 7, 2026 Lionel Messi Rescues Argentina With Late Equaliser, Becomes Leading Goal-Scorer As Defending Champions Fight Back Against Egypt | VIDEODespite the controversy, Argentina advanced to the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals, while debate over the officiating continued to dominate social media long after the final whistle.Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan launched a scathing attack on the officiating after his side's 3-2 defeat to Argentina, suggesting the result was influenced by factors beyond football."We looked better than the reigning champions, but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition and Messi to stay in the running. We were denied a penalty, our goal was disallowed without a VAR check, and we have not seen respect or fair play. We have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice."