French referee François Létesse, who was 37 years old at the time of the events, decided to delete his Instagram account. This occurred amid a wave of accusations regarding unfair officiating during the 2026 World Cup match between Argentina and Egypt.
Match Progression and Controversial Moments
In the Round of 16, Argentina faced the Egyptian national team on July 7th at the Atlanta Stadium (officially known as Mercedes-Benz Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia. The Argentine team won with a score of 3-2.
During the game, the French referee refused to consult the VAR system to review what the Argentine team deemed an obvious error. Furthermore, the Egyptian federation stated that the referee insisted on refusing to view certain video footage which, in Egypt's opinion, should have resulted in a legitimate goal and penalty for the Egyptian national team.
Allegations of Bias
During the FIFA match, the French referee declined to consult VAR to analyze a situation that the Argentine team considered a clear mistake against the Egyptian team. Moreover, François Létesse did not award a goal for Egypt following a similar error, which angered thousands of World Cup fans who began to suspect that the referee was intentionally helping Messi win the match.
Public Reaction and Official Complaints
Fans, outraged by the perceived unfair decision in favor of Egypt, found the official profile of French referee François Létesse and launched a massive campaign, flooding it with comments accusing him of bias. According to activists and influencers, Létesse's last post had only 12 comments, but several hours after the match, the number of comments complaining about his impartiality in favor of Argentina exceeded 17,000.
Following such a strong negative response, François Létesse blocked his Instagram account. Additionally, the Egyptian Football Association, led by Hany Abo Ridah, announced that it had filed an official complaint with FIFA against referee François Létesse for the Egypt vs Argentina match officiating.