POBNEWS24, Dhaka July 9, 2026 : The controversy over the refereeing of the Argentina-Egypt match in the World Cup football has now erupted in Bangladesh as well. A youth has filed a written complaint against the FIFA president, the match referee and 15 to 20 others at Sudharam Model Police Station in Noakhali, alleging biased decisions in the match. At the same time, he has demanded Tk 5 crore in compensation.
The complainant, Md. Rakib (22), is a resident of Mandartali village in Noakhali Sadar Upazila. On Wednesday (July 8) night, he went to Sudharam Model Police Station with a written complaint. However, the police said that the complaint was not taken as a case as the matter was outside their legal jurisdiction.
In the written complaint, Rakib mentioned that he was watching the World Cup match between Argentina and Egypt on a big screen at the local Karmulya market on Tuesday night. During the match, the referee deliberately gave an advantage to one team, resulting in his favorite team, Egypt, losing.
In the complaint, he named FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the French referee of the match, Francois Letexier, and 15 to 20 other people involved as accused.
Rakib claimed that the match was influenced by unfair penalties, disallowed legitimate goals, and biased decisions against Egyptian players and coaching staff. This has caused him and numerous Egyptian fans mental damage. For this, he demanded compensation of Tk 5 crore from FIFA and action against the accused under international law.
Sudharam Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Kamrul Islam confirmed the matter and said that the young man had come to the police station with a written complaint. However, the local police station has no legal jurisdiction over such international sports-related matters. He was explained the matter and advised to approach the international court if necessary.
On Thursday morning, Rakib said that he and the other fans with him were mentally broken after watching the match. The incident should be tried. Since the police did not accept the complaint, he will go to court with the same complaint. If necessary, he will also hold other programs including human chains.
