​The Argentine Football Association (AFA) seems to have been the target of a cyber attack after emails were released from its official accounts that reportedly criticised the “corrupt refereeing” surrounding Argentina’s controversial World Cup last-16 victory over Egypt. In that match, Egypt were leading 2-0 in the late stages, but a goal was controversially ruled out and there was anger over a perceived foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernández’s decisive goal. The Egyptian Football Association filed an official complaint with FIFA, demanding the removal of referee Francois Letexier and his team from the tournament. FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, Pierluigi Colina, responded by saying that nobody could question the integrity of the World Cup officiating.
Fans have voiced anger over what many see as refereeing favoritism toward the defending champions, a sentiment only amplified by the appointment of a fully Argentinian refereeing crew for France’s quarter-final against Morocco, a move that fed suspicions of bias. Now, Argentine outlet Le Calcio has reported that emails allegedly sent from the AFA to journalists in the aftermath of the match claimed that “Argentina did not win” and that “corrupt refereeing decisions” influenced the outcome. The messages also praised Egypt’s performance while including statements perceived as threatening in the context of the ongoing Middle East conflict. The report cites sources within the AFA who indicated that the hackers were of Egyptian origin and had breached the federation’s database, gaining access to email addresses, passwords and IP addresses.
In response, the AFA issued a statement noting that they had detected the possible sending of emails from one of their institutional accounts that were neither generated nor authorized by their team. The federation asked recipients to disregard any messages that seemed unusual, especially those containing links, attachments, or requests for personal information. The AFA added that there is a possibility their account had been subjected to unauthorized access, and that they were working with their systems team to verify the incident and implement necessary security measures. They stressed that their systems have appropriate security safeguards in place and that the investigation would determine the incident’s origin and scope.
The emails reflected the emotions of Egyptian supporters as well, including Mostafa Ziko, who had his goal ruled out but later scored Egypt’s second. Ziko went so far as to say that “this tournament has been fixed” and that Letexier “was really not fair” following Egypt’s exit. Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan also commented, noting that “there seems to have been pressure on the Argentinian side on the referee,” suggesting that external influences may have affected officiating. The broader context has left fans and stakeholders debating whether officiating decisions affected the tournament’s outcomes, and whether cyber intrusions targeting football associations are a growing concern that could undermine trust in the game’s governance.