Fifa refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has rejected accusations against match officials following Egypt’s controversial World Cup defeat by Argentina, insisting that the integrity of referees at the tournament cannot be questioned.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) filed a complaint after their 3-2 last-16 loss, calling for the officials involved in the match to be removed from the competition. The EFA demanded an investigation into what it described as “double standards” after two major second-half decisions went against Egypt.
Egypt manager Hossam Hassan claimed his side had been “treated unfairly” and suggested decisions may have been influenced by a desire to keep defending champions Argentina and Lionel Messi in the tournament.
Collina strongly dismissed those accusations, saying debate over decisions is a natural part of football but unsupported claims damage the game and can create risks for referees and their families.
The former World Cup final referee also said Fifa officials operate independently and cannot be influenced by anyone, including president Gianni Infantino.
The biggest controversy came when Egypt thought they had doubled their lead in the second half. Mostafa Zico’s goal was ruled out after a VAR review found that Marwan Attia had stepped on Lisandro Martinez’s foot earlier in the move.
Collina explained that VAR checks the entire attacking possession phase before every goal and can recommend a review if a foul in the build-up affects the outcome. He said there is no fixed limit on how far back VAR can look in terms of time or distance from goal.
“We believe that a foul is a foul,” Collina said, adding that Attia’s challenge was correctly identified.
Egypt were also angry after Mohamed Salah went down inside Argentina’s penalty area moments before the reigning champions scored their stoppage-time winner. However, Collina backed the decision not to award a penalty, saying officials judged that Julian Alvarez played the ball first before normal football contact occurred.
He admitted some decisions will always involve a level of interpretation but said Fifa is satisfied with how VAR and refereeing standards have been applied throughout the tournament.
The controversy comes during a period of increased scrutiny on Fifa’s disciplinary decisions, including criticism from Uefa after Folarin Balogun avoided an automatic suspension following his red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Uefa described that ruling as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.