FIFA arbitration denies bias in Argentina x Egypt duel

In an interview published on the website inside.fifa.com this Thursday (9), Collina said that criticism of referees is part of football, but condemned the questioning of the integrity of the refereeing after Egypt complained about the referee after the defeat.

“Constructive discussions about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said.

“No one can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup referees... No one can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino].”

Collina stated that such allegations could provoke threats against referees and their families.

Egypt claimed they had been treated unfairly after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to claim victory with an injury-time goal from Enzo Fernández.

Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan claimed after the match that there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament. The Egyptian Football Federation stated that “several important incidents raised serious concerns and left deep doubts about the consistency and impartiality of decisions that directly influenced the course of the match.”

Egypt argued that a second-half goal by Mostafa Zico was incorrectly disallowed for what it described as a non-existent foul in the play preceding the goal. Egypt were also outraged that a foul on Mohamed Salah was not called moments before Argentina began the play that resulted in the winning goal.

Collina stated that VAR correctly recommended the annulment of Zico's goal after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentine defender Lisandro Martínez during the possession phase of the attack.

“We believe a foul is a foul,” Collina said. “Regardless of whether the foul seems ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the pitch, VAR can intervene.”

Collina also defended the decision not to award a penalty to Egypt before Argentina's winning goal, stating that both the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julián Álvarez as “normal contact in football”.

“Stepping on an opponent's foot is a foul, while a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,” he said.

While acknowledging that some decisions will always involve an element of subjectivity, Collina said FIFA is pleased with the way VAR principles were applied throughout the tournament.

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