Collina Defends Referees Against 'Unfounded Allegations'
Collina said VAR correctly overturned Egypt’s 62nd-minute goal and rejected a late penalty appeal after officials followed review protocols.
- FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina defended officiating decisions in Argentina's 3-2 World Cup win over Egypt, asserting that match officials remain independent of governing body influence when calling games.
- Much of the contention centred on Mostafa Zico's disallowed 62nd-minute goal and the 92nd-minute challenge by Julian Alvarez on Mohamed Salah, which Egypt unsuccessfully appealed for a penalty.
- Collina confirmed the disallowed goal was an 'obvious foul' requiring VAR intervention, while Alvarez's late challenge constituted 'normal football contact' rather than a foul, justifying the decision not to intervene.
- Egypt manager Hossam Hassan alleged 'internal factors' influenced the outcome, yet Collina condemned threats against officials, stating, 'Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.'
- Argentina advances to face Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinals, while FIFA Refereeing named an entirely Argentine crew to officiate the France versus Morocco match, a tournament first for national representation.
46 Articles
46 Articles
The chairman of FIFA's referees' committee explained the controversial decisions in the Argentina-Egypt match.
FIFA's head of football referees, Pierluigi Collina, issued a press release following mounting allegations against FIFA that World Cup matches were rigged. Complaints are coming from all sides that Argentina is openly favored in the World Cup, and the peak of the accusations came from the camp of the Egyptian national team, which was defeated 3-2 in the round of 16 of the World Cup against Argentina. The Egyptians believe they were badly damaged…
Pierluigi Collina, head of the FIFA arbitration, defended Thursday's "integrity" of the World-2026 and justified the decisions of French referee François Letexier, challenged by Egypt after its elimination by Argentina.
The head of referees at the International Football Federation (FIFA), Italian Pierluigi Collina, defended French World Cup match referee Francois Letexier against harsh criticism from Egypt and generally supported the referees at the championship.
Fifa hits back at Trump and Egypt over refereeing bias claims
Fifa’s referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina has hit back at critics of officiating at the World Cup after President Trump and the Egypt team made allegations of bias. Trump said Raphael Claus, the Brazilian ref who sent off USA’s Folarin Balogun, “was a little bit suspect” and later claimed his pressure had resulted in Fifa suspending the striker’s ban for the last-16 tie with Belgium. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan, meanwhile, accused French ref Franco…
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