FIFA's refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has rejected claims of bias in Argentina's dramatic 3-2 win over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16 insisting match officials acted with complete independence.
In an interview published on FIFA's website Thursday, Collina said criticism of referees is a normal part of football but questioning officials' integrity crosses a line. "Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," he said.
He warned that such claims could put referees and their families at risk of threats. "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," Collina said, referring to Gianni Infantino.
Egypt was eliminated after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit, with Enzo Fernandez scoring a stoppage-time winner. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan claimed the referee may have faced pressure to keep Argentina in the tournament alleging his team was "cheated" out of a quarter-final spot. The Egyptian Football Association also criticized the use of VAR during the match.
Egypt raised two main complaints. First, they said Mostafa Zico's second-half goal was wrongly disallowed for a foul that did not happen. Collina defended the call saying VAR correctly identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina's Lisandro Martinez during the buildup. "We believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears 'obvious,' if the referee did not see it on the field, the VAR can intervene," he said.
Second, Egypt argued that a challenge on Mohamed Salah should have been ruled a penalty just before Argentina scored the winning goal. Collina backed the officials' decision, saying both the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez as "normal football contact." He explained: "Stepping on an opponent's foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal contact has not committed a foul."
Collina acknowledged that some refereeing decisions carry an element of subjectivity but said FIFA remains satisfied with how VAR has been applied throughout the tournament.
