Egypt forward, Mostafa Ziko, has slammed the referee following their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He further suggested that the competition has been rigged to favour La Albiceleste.
Speaking to reporters after Argentina’s comeback from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2, Ziko asserted that the officiating by Francois Letexier was unfair.
He also made a sarcastic remark implying that La Albiceleste is destined to win the World Cup, which he claims has been rigged in their favour.
He 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 between Argentina and Egypt was marred by several controversial refereeing decisions. In the 58th minute, Ziko’s goal was disallowed due to a foul on Lisandro Martinez during the build-up.
The Egyptian team also believed that two fouls occurred leading up to the winning goal scored by Enzo Fernandez in added time (90+2′).
However, both the video assistant referee and the on-field referee determined that there was insufficient evidence to validate Egypt’s 58th-minute goal or to disallow the late goal scored by La Albiceleste. Earlier in the match, Yasser Ibrahim had given Egypt an early advantage with a header in the 15th minute.
Lionel Messi missed a penalty after Argentina was awarded a spot kick in the 21st minute. Mohamed Salah assisted Ziko, who then scored to extend Egypt’s lead in the 58th minute.
In the 79th minute, Messi found Cristian Romero, who scored to provide Argentina with a crucial goal. Just four minutes later (83′), Messi himself scored to level the match at 2-2 for La Albiceleste.
Enzo Fernandez then secured the victory for Argentina with a header in the dying moments of the match (90+2′). Consequently, Lionel Messi and his teammates have advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 tournament.