A member of Egypt’s teaching employees is proven a pink card by referee Francois Letexier throughout Egypt’s Spherical of 16 conflict towards Argentina at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US, July 7, 2026. — Reuters
Fifa refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt within the World Cup spherical of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officers operated with full independence.
In an interview printed on Fifa web site on Thursday, Collina mentioned criticism of referees was a part of soccer however he condemned the questioning of the officers’ integrity after Egypt complained in regards to the officiating following the defeat.
“Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina mentioned.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the Fifa World Cup match officials … Nobody can claim that Fifa refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the Fifa president [Gianni Infantino].”
Collina mentioned that such allegations may provoke threats towards referees and their households.
Egypt exited the match however claimed they’d been handled unfairly after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to grab victory with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez.
Coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match there might have been strain on the referee to maintain Argentina within the match.
And the Egyptian Soccer Affiliation mentioned “several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.”
Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half strike was incorrectly dominated out for what it described as a non-existent foul within the build-up. Egypt had been additionally incensed {that a} problem on Mohamed Salah was not penalised moments earlier than Argentina launched the transfer that produced the successful objective.
Fifa’s Collina mentioned VAR had appropriately really useful overturning Zico’s objective after figuring out a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez through the attacking possession section.
“We believe that a foul is a foul,” Collina mentioned. “Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
Collina additionally defended the choice to not award Egypt a penalty earlier than Argentina’s winner, saying each the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez to be “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,” he mentioned.
Whereas acknowledging that some selections would at all times contain a component of subjectivity, Collina mentioned Fifa was glad with how VAR ideas had been utilized all through the match.
