FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has defended the officiating in Argentina’s 3-2 World Cup last-16 victory over Egypt, rejecting allegations of bias and insisting match officials acted with complete independence.
In an interview published on FIFA’s website on Thursday, Collina said criticism of refereeing decisions was a normal part of football but condemned claims questioning the integrity of officials after Egypt criticised the performance of the referee following its defeat.
“With such a high number of matches played in a relatively short period of time, it is normal that some things do not go as expected,” he said. “When that happens, they [referees] are ready to work even harder to ensure they are fully prepared for the next match.”
“Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.”
He warned that such accusations could lead to threats against referees and their families.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials … Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino],” he said. “Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.”
Egypt was eliminated after Argentina came from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory through Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner.
After the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan alleged there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament and claimed his side had been “cheated” out of a place in the quarter-finals.
The Egyptian Football Association also criticised the officiating, saying it would not remain silent over what it described as the improper use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.
Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half goal was wrongly ruled out because of what it described as a non-existent foul during the build-up. The team also protested that Mohamed Salah was not awarded a foul moments before Argentina launched the attack that produced the winning goal.
Collina said VAR had correctly advised the referee to disallow Zico’s goal after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking possession phase.
“We believe that a foul is a foul,” he said. “Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
He also backed the decision not to award Egypt a penalty before Argentina’s winner, saying both the referee and VAR concluded that the contact between Mohamed Salah and Julian Alvarez amounted to “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 said.
While acknowledging that some refereeing decisions would always involve an element of subjectivity, Collina said FIFA remained satisfied with the way VAR protocols had been applied throughout the tournament.
