Francois Letexier will referee the Argentina-Egypt 2026 World Cup round of 16 match on Tuesday (18:00). This is his third match under the whistle at this tournament, but also the first, so burdened by the context of relations between France and Argentina after the 2022 World Cup final.
Argentines are afraid of the referee
“Can’t we ask someone more neutral to replace him?” – an Internet user wrote under an entry in the account of the 10th Argentine Football Federation. “They want to rob us! We shouldn’t let the Frenchman lead us around,” another user added.
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Argentine journalist Gustavo Jarroc, who closely follows Albicelestes, also reported interesting news. The Argentines are reported to have said: “We can’t believe it. We were assigned a French judge.”.
Tensions are also influenced by discussions about decisions that favored the world champions at the start of the tournament: the lack of a penalty for Lionel Messi for attacking an opponent’s leg in the match with Algeria (referee Szymon Marciniak), a VAR penalty against Austria assessed as not obvious, and a short stoppage time (three minutes) in extra time when Cape Verde were fighting for an equalizer.
In the case of Argentina, fears are also dictated by the fact that it is one of France’s main competitors at the World Cup. Their fight would have taken place only in the final, and the French referee would have somehow prevented it already at the stage of the 1/8 finals.
Letexier spoke about his preparations in an interview with RMC Sport before the World Championships and the 10-day training camp in Miami. “My goal is to make the right decisions and ensure that the match takes place in good conditions, with respect for sportsmanship,” he explained. “If the decision is understood, it will be accepted,” he added.
Recognized as the best judge in the world in 2024, the Frenchman is hosting a tournament of this rank for the first time. In the group stage, he refereed Cote d’Ivoire – Ecuador (15 June, 1-0) and Cape Verde – Saudi Arabia (27 June, 0-0), showing four yellow cards in both matches.