Argentine Football Association investigates suspected email hack after World Cup match

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) is investigating a suspected email hack after unauthorized messages were sent from official AFA accounts following Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt in the 2026 FIFA World Cup last-16 match on July 8. The emails criticized referee Francois Letexier’s officiating and alleged corrupt decisions that allegedly affected the match outcome, and the AFA said the messages were neither generated nor authorized by its team. Another group claiming responsibility, operating under the alias “Hossam Hassan,” said it infiltrated AFA systems and accessed a sensitive database. That database, according to the claim, may include emails, hashed passwords, national IDs, phone numbers, IP addresses, and profile pictures. AFA said as of the latest updates there is no confirmed financial loss or evidence of broader compromise beyond the email incident, and the investigation remains ongoing. The article also notes that AFA has crypto-related partnerships, raising potential ripple effects if credentials were reused, even though no blockchain platform is directly linked to the breach.