FIFA refereeing chief rejects claims of bias in Argentina's win over Egypt

In an interview published on Thursday, Collina condemned the questioning of the officials' integrity, emphasizing that unfounded allegations have no place in sport and can provoke threats against referees and their families. The refereeing chief explicitly stated that FIFA refereeing cannot be influenced by anyone, firmly noting that this independence extends even from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Egypt vociferously complained about the officiating after exiting the tournament, following a dramatic collapse where Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to snatch victory with a stoppage-time winner. Egyptian coach Hossam Hassan alleged that there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament to continue their World Cup campaign.

The Egyptian Football Association stated that several key incidents raised serious concerns, leaving profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the game's outcome. A major point of contention was Mostafa Zico's second-half strike being ruled out, which Egypt described as a disallowed goal based on a non-existent foul in the build-up Collina clarified that VAR correctly recommended overturning Zico's goal, having properly identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking possession phase. Egyptians were also incensed by a challenge on Mohamed Salah that went unpenalized moments before Argentina launched the counter-attack that produced Enzo Fernandez's winning goal. Collina defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty for the incident, explaining that both the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez to be normal football contact.