Former referee: "Refereeing in Argentina vs Egypt match was correct"

Former FIFA referee Aleksey Nikolaev evaluated the performance of head referee François Letexier in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt.

Egyptian representatives were unhappy with the referee's decisions after the 2-3 defeat. However, Nikolaev believes that the referee and VAR acted correctly in the key controversial episodes.

"This is giving in to emotions"

Nikolaev explained the Egyptian side's dissatisfaction by the fact that they were leading 2-0 and ultimately let the victory slip away.

"In my opinion, this is giving in to emotions after losing a 2-0 lead," said the former referee.

He stated that it is natural for team representatives to have complaints about officiating after such a painful defeat.

VAR intervention on the disallowed goal was deemed correct

Egypt's disallowed goal was one of the most discussed episodes.

In Nikolaev's opinion, there was a foul before the start of the attack, and VAR was right to call the referee to the monitor.

"One cannot speak of an incorrect decision. The foul before the start of the attack was clear," he emphasized.

No questions regarding the penalty for Argentina

The former referee also touched upon the penalty episode awarded against Egypt.

He believes that the defender did not act correctly in this situation and the referee's decision was well-founded.

"There are no questions about the penalty awarded against Egypt. It was the defender's problem," said Nikolaev.

No penalty in the episode with Salah

There were also debates about whether there was a foul on Mohamed Salah in the penalty area before Argentina's winning goal.

Nikolaev noted that in this case, the defender played the ball first, and the contact occurred afterwards.

He believes there was no basis for awarding a penalty in such a situation.

"The referee controlled the game well"

Aleksey Nikolaev highly rated the overall performance of François Letexier.

"I liked the work of one of the best European referees in the tournament. He controlled the game at a very high level," he said.

The former referee also rejected claims that decisions were made in favor of strong teams. He believes that if viewed without emotions, the key controversial episodes in the Argentina vs Egypt match were understandable and justifiable from a refereeing perspective.