The fallout from Argentina and Egypt’s controversial Round of 16 clash at the World Cup has yet to settle. A new controversy has erupted, suggesting the Argentine Football Association may have been hacked by Egyptian nationals, after a series of emails criticizing the referee and praising the Egyptian team were leaked to media outlets.
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Egypt was on the brink of the quarterfinals after leading 2-0 until the 79th minute. But a spectacular collapse saw them concede three goals in the next 15 minutes, losing the match. There were plenty of controversial calls throughout the game, and a similar call in the buildup to the winner made Egypt request that FIFA banish the match officials from the World Cup.
On Friday, Argentine publication La Calle reported that the country’s official soccer body, the AFA, was potentially hacked by Egyptian nationals. The post also revealed that several journalists received emails from AFA that “Argentina did not win” and their victory was only due to “corrupt refereeing decisions.”
A few sources indicated that hackers were of Egyptian origin, as they praised the Egyptian team repeatedly in the email and also echoed what players like Mostaka Ziko and head coach Hossam Hassan said.
Following the shocking defeat, Ziko, who had a goal canceled due to a foul in the buildup, was critical of the referee, Francois Letexier, and Hassan slammed that they were “treated unfairly” as Lionel Messi and Argentina were shown favoritism at the World Cup.
Reacting to the emails that were sent on Friday, the AFA released a statement urging the public to “dismiss any message that you have received from our account.” They also denied the emails in the official statement.
“We want to inform you that we have detected the possible sending of emails from one of our institutional accounts that were not generated or authorised by our team,” the statement read.
AFA also revealed that they were looking into the breach and were determined to find out the root cause.
As the dust settles, Argentina is preparing for a quarterfinal clash against Switzerland on Saturday. Messi found top gear late in the game as he saved the defending champions from the brink of a shock elimination.
Egypt, meanwhile, enjoyed its best-ever World Cup run in 2026. They reached their first-ever knockout and even recorded a victory in the knockouts to reach the round of 16. Despite the defeat, the team was given a hero’s welcome when they landed in Cairo on Friday.
