Hacker impersonates the Argentine Football Federation 'demanding justice' for Egypt
Hackers are said to have infiltrated the email system of the Argentine Football Federation and sent messages in English to reporters from The Athletic, Telegraph, La Calle... on July 9. The email, titled "System Hacked: Unfair Decision", declared "this robbery will not be ignored" and "cybersecurity is an illusion, just like the integrity of that match".
On July 10, AFA confirmed the emails "may" have been sent from one of the organization's accounts, but emphasized they were "neither created nor authorized by us".
The cyber attack occurred after a series of controversies about the match between Argentina and Egypt in the 1/8 round of FIFA World Cup 2026 on July 7. The players, coaching staff and Egyptian media all criticized the management, even accusing the match of being "fixed" to protect the defending champion and player Lionel Messi.
According to The Athletic, the content of the email described the match with "90 minutes of unfair refereeing", concluded "if there is no justice on the field, don't expect peace on social networks" and "please consider the letter as a permanent proof of our protest". At the end of the letter was "signed by all Egyptian cyber warriors".
Responding to NYTimes, AFA said it would conduct a check with the information technology department and asked those who received the email to "ignore it". "It is possible that our account was accessed illegally. We are currently working to clarify the situation and implement necessary security measures," an AFA representative said, adding that the federation will analyze the incident to determine the origin and scope.
The controversy surrounding the Argentina - Egypt match has not yet subsided. In the 67th minute, Egyptian midfielder Mostafa Ziko put the ball into the net to increase the score to 2-0, but VAR technology determined that teammate Marwan Attia fouled Argentina's Lisandro Martinez at the beginning of the ball and recommended that the referee cancel the goal. In the injury time, Egypt's Mohamed Salah fell in the penalty area after colliding with the Argentine defender, but the referee did not blow a penalty nor request a VAR review. Immediately afterward, Enzo Fernandez scored the winning goal 3-2 for Argentina.
After the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan reacted the strongest, saying that Egypt suffered injustice, even questioning FIFA's desire for Argentina and Messi to continue the championship race. He also declared that he would "never watch the World Cup again because the tournament has no justice".