Collina Defends World Cup Refereeing Amid Allegations
FIFA’s refereeing chief, Pierluigi Collina, has defended the officiating in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16. He dismissed allegations of bias and emphasized that match officials operated with complete independence. In an interview featured on inside.fifa.com, Collina addressed the criticism aimed at referees and condemned any questioning of their integrity after Egypt’s complaints about the match officiating.
Collina stated, “Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.” He reiterated that the integrity of FIFA World Cup match officials cannot be questioned, mentioning that not even FIFA president Gianni Infantino can influence refereeing decisions.
Egypt exited the tournament after Argentina’s comeback victory, which included a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez. Coach Hossam Hassan alleged possible pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament. The Egyptian Football Association raised concerns about key incidents that influenced the game’s outcome.
Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half goal was incorrectly disallowed for a non-existent foul. They also contended that a challenge on Mohamed Salah should have been penalized before Argentina scored the winning goal.
Referring to Zico’s disallowed goal, Collina explained that VAR recommended overturning it after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking phase. He asserted that, “We believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious,’ if the referee did not see it, the VAR can intervene.”
Collina defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty before Argentina’s winner, noting that both the referee and VAR assessed the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez as “normal football contact.” He clarified, “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.”
While acknowledging subjectivity in some decisions, Collina expressed satisfaction with how VAR principles were applied throughout the tournament.