Pierluigi Collina said that such allegations of bias could provoke threats against referees and their families. Published On 9 Jul 20269 Jul 2026FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina has defended the officiating in Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officials operated with complete independence.In an interview published on FIFA’s website on Thursday, Collina said criticism of referees was part of football, but he condemned the questioning of the officials’ integrity after Egypt complained about the officiating following the defeat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“With such a high number of matches played in a relatively short period of time, it is normal that some things do not go as expected,” Collina said. “When that happens, they [referees] are ready to work even harder to ensure they are fully prepared for the next match.“Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.”Collina said that such allegations could provoke threats against referees and their families.“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials … Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino],” he added.“Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.” French referee Francois Letexier speaks with Egypt forward Mohamed Salah during the 2026 World Cup round of 16 football match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium [Roberto Schmidt/AFP]Egypt exited the tournament but claimed they had been treated unfairly, after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit with 11 minutes remaining to snatch victory with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez. Advertisement Coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match that there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament, and that Egypt were “cheated” out of a place in the quarterfinals.The Egyptian Football Association also criticised the refereeing decisions, saying it would not remain silent over what it described as the improper use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half strike was incorrectly ruled out for what it described as a non-existent foul in the build-up. Egypt were also incensed that a challenge on Mohamed Salah was not penalised moments before Argentina launched the move …
