FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating during Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16. He dismissed allegations of bias and affirmed that match officials operated with complete independence.
In an interview on inside.fifa.com, Collina stated that while criticism is part of football, questioning the integrity of officials is unfounded. Following Egypt’s complaints after their defeat, he emphasized, Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.
Collina stressed that no one can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. He asserted that FIFA refereeing cannot be influenced, not even by the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.
Collina warned that such allegations could lead to threats against referees and their families. Egypt exited the tournament after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit, securing a win with a stoppage-time goal by Enzo Fernandez.
After the match, Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan suggested that there might have been pressure on the referee to favor Argentina. The Egyptian Football Association expressed serious concerns about the consistency and fairness of key decisions that they felt affected the game’s outcome.
One point of contention was the annulment of Mostafa Zico’s second-half goal, which Egypt claimed involved a non-existent foul in the build-up. Additionally, the team was upset that a challenge on Mohamed Salah was not penalized just before Argentina’s winning goal.
FIFA’s Collina explained that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) correctly recommended overturning Zico’s goal. VAR identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the play leading to the goal. Collina said, We believe that a foul is a foul,
and VAR intervention is appropriate if the referee misses it.
Regarding the incident involving Salah before Argentina’s winning goal, Collina defended the decision not to award a penalty. Both the referee and VAR determined that the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez was normal football contact.
Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,
Collina stated.
He acknowledged that subjectivity plays a role in some decisions, but FIFA remained satisfied with the application of VAR principles during the tournament.