FIFA’s refereeing chief, Pierluigi Collina, has strongly defended the match officials involved in Argentina’s controversial 3-2 victory over Egypt, rejecting allegations that refereeing decisions were influenced to favour the South American giants.
The dramatic World Cup Round of 16 clash ended in heartbreak for Egypt after Argentina recovered from a two-goal deficit to seal qualification with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez. The result triggered sharp criticism from Egyptian football authorities, who claimed a series of contentious decisions denied them a place in the quarter-finals.
Addressing the controversy in an interview published by FIFA on Thursday, Collina insisted that the integrity and independence of World Cup referees should not be questioned.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials,” he said.
“Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.”
Collina acknowledged that scrutiny of refereeing decisions is inevitable in a tournament of such magnitude but warned against accusations that lack evidence.
“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 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.”
The former Italian referee also cautioned that attacks on officials’ credibility could expose referees and their families to abuse and threats.
The Egyptian Football Association had voiced strong objections to the officiating after the match, particularly over the Video Assistant Referee’s involvement in disallowing a goal scored by Mostafa Zico.
Egypt argued that the goal was wrongly ruled out and accused officials of misapplying VAR protocols. The federation also questioned why a challenge on Mohamed Salah shortly before Argentina’s winning goal was not punished.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan intensified the debate after the match, suggesting there may have been pressure on the referee to ensure Argentina remained in the competition.
Collina, however, dismissed those concerns and said FIFA’s review confirmed that the decisions were correctly reached under the laws of the game.
According to him, VAR properly intervened after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez in the attacking sequence that led to Zico’s disallowed strike.
“We believe that a foul is a foul,” Collina 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 defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty or free kick in the build-up to Argentina’s decisive goal, explaining that both the on-field referee and VAR determined that the contact involving 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 explained.
While recognising that some refereeing calls will always generate differing opinions, Collina said FIFA remains satisfied with the way VAR has been implemented throughout the World Cup.
His comments represent FIFA’s strongest response yet to Egypt’s allegations and underline the governing body’s position that the controversial decisions in the match were reached fairly and without outside interference.
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