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Abayomi Ademola
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the integrity of match officials at the 2026 FIFA World Cup following Egypt’s protest over their controversial 3-2 round of 16 loss to Argentina.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) had called on FIFA to remove referees from the tournament and launch an investigation into what it described as inconsistent refereeing. Egypt’s complaints centered on two second-half decisions, including the VAR review that disallowed Mostafa Zico’s goal and a penalty appeal involving Mohamed Salah moments before Argentina scored the winning goal in added time. After the match, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan suggested that the decisions favored the defending champions, claiming that the Pharaohs had been “treated unfairly”.
Responding to the criticism, Collina insisted that FIFA referees operate independently and rejected any suggestion that the referees had been influenced. “No one can question the integrity of the referees of FIFA World Cup matches,” Collina said. “Constructive debate on decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded accusations have no place in our sport. No one can claim that anyone can influence FIFA refereeing, not even the FIFA president. Referees make honest decisions and, like players and coaches, always try to do the best they can.”
Collina also explained the key decisions that sparked Egypt’s protest, saying the VAR correctly intervened to rule out Zico’s goal after identifying Marwan Attia stepping on Lisandro Martínez during the attacking phase. He added that officials judged the late challenge involving Salah and Julián Álvarez as “normal football contact” rather than a foul. The FIFA official maintained that while some decisions remain subjective, the tournament’s refereeing principles have been applied consistently throughout the competition.
