2026 World Cup: FIFA has rigged it for you, congratulations Argentina – Egypt’s Ziko
by Ayeh Offei-Akoto · MyNewsGh.comEgypt forward Mostafa Ziko has criticised the referee following his side’s dramatic 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ziko also suggested the tournament had been rigged in favour of the South American champions after Argentina came from two goals down to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Speaking to reporters after the match, the Egyptian forward questioned the performance of referee François Letexier and claimed the officiating was unfair.
He said, via The Touchline: “Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup; the tournament was rigged, they didn’t need anything else. The referee was unfair, unfair, unfair, unfair.”
The match was marked by several controversial refereeing decisions.
In the 58th minute, Ziko had a goal ruled out after the referee judged that there had been a foul on Lisandro Martínez during the build-up.
Egypt also felt they were denied two fouls in the build-up to Enzo Fernández’s stoppage-time winner in the 90+2nd minute.
However, both the video assistant referee (VAR) and the on-field referee ruled that there was not enough evidence to overturn the decisions.
Yasser Ibrahim had given Egypt the lead with a header in the 15th minute before Lionel Messi missed a penalty six minutes later.
Mohamed Salah then set up Ziko to double Egypt’s advantage in the 58th minute.
Argentina mounted a late comeback, with Messi assisting Cristian Romero to make it 2-1 in the 79th minute before scoring the equaliser himself four minutes later.
Enzo Fernández completed the turnaround with a stoppage-time header to send Argentina into the quarter-finals.
Source: MyNewsGh.com
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