Fifa refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has strongly defended the match officials who handled Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16. He rejected allegations of bias and insisted that referees performed their duties independently without influence from any individual or organisation.
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Collina acknowledged that debate over refereeing decisions is a normal part of football but stressed that questioning the integrity of officials is unacceptable. He warned that baseless accusations could expose referees and their families to unnecessary threats and abuse. Furthermore, he said no one, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino, can influence World Cup refereeing decisions.
The controversy emerged after Egypt complained about several key decisions following its heartbreaking defeat. The team argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half goal was wrongly disallowed for a foul in the build-up and also claimed Mohamed Salah should have received a foul before Argentina launched the attack that produced Enzo Fernández’s stoppage-time winning goal.
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Responding to those concerns, Collina explained that the Video Assistant Referee correctly advised the on-field referee to review Zico’s goal because Marwan Attia committed a foul on Lisandro Martínez during the attacking phase. He also defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty, saying officials considered the contact between Salah and Julián Álvarez to be normal football contact rather than a foul.
Although Collina admitted that some refereeing decisions will always involve an element of judgment, he expressed confidence in the tournament’s use of VAR. He said FIFA remains satisfied with how the technology has been applied throughout the competition and believes officials have followed the established refereeing principles consistently during the World Cup.