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Argentina FA suspects cyber attack after emails criticizing World Cup refereeing
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The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has indicated it may have suffered a cyber attack after emails from its official accounts reportedly criticized refereeing in Argentina's dramatic 3-2 World Cup last-16 win against Egypt. Argentine news outlet La Calle reported that emails sent from AFA accounts to journalists stated 'Argentina did not win' and blamed 'corrupt refereeing decisions,' with AFA sources suggesting Egyptian-origin hackers were responsible. The AFA issued a statement acknowledging possible unauthorized access to one of its institutional accounts and urged the public to dismiss unusual messages. The incident follows the Egyptian Football Association's formal complaint to FIFA alleging referee bias in favor of Argentina, including claims that officials favored Lionel Messi. Argentina staged a remarkable late comeback from 2-0 down, with goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez to reach the quarter-finals against Switzerland.
Source report
Image caption: Argentina came from two goals down to defeat Egypt 3-2 in their World Cup last-16 tie
By Adwaidh Rajan, BBC Sport journalist
Argentina's football association has indicated it may have been the target of a cyber attack after emails from its official accounts reportedly criticised refereeing in the national team's 3-2 win against Egypt at the World Cup.
The reigning world champions looked set for a shock last-16 exit when they trailed Egypt 2-0, but produced a remarkable late comeback to reach the quarter-finals.
Following the defeat, the Egyptian Football Association asked Fifa to banish French referee Francois Letexier and the team of officials who were in charge, alleging bias in favour of Argentina.
Argentine news outlet La Calle reported that emails sent from the Argentine Football Association's (AFA) account to journalists after the match stated "Argentina did not win" and that the result was due to "corrupt refereeing decisions".
The publication said AFA sources indicated a group of Egyptian-origin hackers were behind the emails, which also praised Egypt's performance.
Responding to the incident, an AFA statement read:
"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 AFA asked the public to "dismiss any message that you have recently received from our account and that is unusual, especially if it contains links, attachments or requests personal information".
"There is a possibility that our account has been subject to unauthorised access, so we are working to clarify what happened and adopt the necessary security measures," the AFA added.
Match Summary
Egypt had taken a 2-0 lead in Atlanta through Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico. However:
- Cristian Romero halved the deficit 11 minutes from time
- Lionel Messi equalised five minutes later
- Enzo Fernandez completed the comeback two minutes into injury time
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
Egypt's Reaction
Speaking after the defeat, Egypt boss Hossam Hassan said his side had been "treated unfairly" and "suffered injustice".
Hassan added: "Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. The world champion received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome."
Related Topics
- Football
- FIFA World Cup 2026
- Argentina
- Egypt
- Egypt fume at 'injustice' and make Messi favouritism claims after exit
- Are Argentina being treated favourably at World Cup?
Source
BBC SportWestern
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