By Gopal Ram Tripathi

Key Points:

AFTER THE CONTROVERSIES surrounding the officials who were part of the Argentina-Egypt game, people wanted them to be sidelined from the World Cup. And today, July 14, 2026, FIFA has granted them their wish but only relieved the referee Froncois Letexier and Clement Turpin of their roles from the World Cup. L’Equipe reported, “Francois Letexier and Clement Turpin will no longer lead a match during this edition,” referring to the situation revolving around the officials for the remaining 4 games in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

While on the other hand, Swiss fans have burst out on FIFA in Switzerland claiming that “Football belongs to the fans,” they have demanded the resignation of FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino. But there is more story to this.

See Also: Dutch Referee Dropped From World Cup Dies at 38

Officiating Change Sparks Speculations Amid Argentina-Egypt Controversy

Though FIFA sidelined French referees Francois Letexier and Clement Turpin from the rest of the World Cup but only Jerome Brisard stays from France because he was a VAR official throughout this World Cup.

The cooldown from the match between Argentina and Egypt has still not reached its conclusion and Letexier’s outing is related to the matter. Letexier officiated the match which was messy from the beginning. During Argentina’s comeback win, Egypt lost a goal to VAR intervention in the second-half. Mostafa Zico’s goal was disallowed when Lisandro Martinez was fouled during the build-up.

Egypt also felt they were denied a penalty after Salah went down in the box, before Argentina completed their comeback to win the match. Egyptians were furious after the match and began to revolt against FIFA’s decision. Letexier’s removal was their demand after they filed a formal complaint with FIFA. Many fans believe that FIFA removed the officials to get out of the heat they were in. 

But the decision has nothing to do with Egypt’s row. Instead FIFA removed the officials due to a protocol that says if the referee’s native country reaches the semifinals, they will be removed immediately to avoid any conflict of interest in the final stages of the tournament. Now that Argentina, England, Spain, and France have reached the semifinals, the officials belonging to the countries will be removed. 

This protocol will also help FIFA to avoid controversies during the closing match. Every decision is being monitored, and the governing body will focus on the players and title race, steering attention away from the row where the pressure will only grow on them.

See Also: FIFA WC: Epic comeback sees Argentina beat Egypt 3-2, reach quarters

Swiss Fans Takes To The Street Against FIFA

FIFA has been swarmed with controversies for many years. This includes the Financial irregularities which were found when Russia and Qatar were handed over with the hosting rights of 2018 and 2022 respectively. Then FIFA President Sepp Blatter was forced to resign after a few investigations. Gianni Infantino took in-charge but the controversies never went away.

 Then came the presentation of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize which was awarded to US President Trump, and so there came the people with loud words. Algeria also filed a formal complaint to FIFA after the first matchday, where they stated that the foul which was committed by Lionel Messi on Aissa Mandi should’ve handed Messi a red card. Many big teams avoided harsh calls. During the England and Ghana match, Ghana was denied a penalty when Ezri Konsa came up with a tackle from behind in the box. 

However, all the decisions went unseen by FIFA President to which fans responded with a protest. Swiss people marched on the streets of Zurich, Switzerland with banners. Protestors chanted “Against modern FIFA,” “Stop FIFA corruption,” “Infantino out!” and “Football belongs to the fans,” throughout the protest.  The last time when Football witnessed this rebellion was during the launch of the European Super League which was eventually brought down, thanks to millions of football fans. 

(Edited By Harsh Pandey)

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