Officiating at this World Cup had already come under scrutiny before Argentina and Egypt turned one of the tournament’s wildest matches into its most fractious refereeing debate.
There had been arguments over Switzerland’s penalty against Qatar earlier in the competition, anger over the way VAR had reached into attacking moves, complaints about penalties awarded and denied, and the familiar feeling that technology, instead of ending controversy, had merely given it sharper images and longer life. Argentina’s 3-2 Round of 16 win over Egypt brought those tensions fully into the open.
Egypt left the game feeling aggrieved. Coach Hossam Hassan believed his team had been treated unfairly.
FIFA has turned to referees committee chairman Pierluigi Collina to mount its defence. Collina, a former World Cup final referee and still the most authoritative voice in the game’s officiating circles, used two flashpoints from the fractious Argentina-Egypt tie to explain why one incident was ruled a foul in the build-up to a goal while another was treated as no more than normal football contact.
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The first moment Collina addressed came in the move leading to Egypt’s goal in the 58th minute, which was disallowed, as Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia was judged to have trodden on Lisandro Martinez’s foot during the attacking possession phase. The second arrived late in the match, when Egypt felt Mohamed Salah had been fouled by Julian Alvarez in a challenge that could have changed the closing minutes. To Egypt, both incidents fed the same sense of injustice.
“After every goal is scored, the VAR checks the attacking possession phase,” Collina said.
“If a foul is identified in the build-up and is deemed to have had an impact on the goal, the VAR will recommend an on-field review. There is no defined limit regarding either the distance from the goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal,” he added.
According to the FIFA official, it was part of the same attacking possession phase and was judged to have affected the move, and so VAR had the right to intervene.
“We believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene,” Collina said.
For Hassan, however, the explanation is unlikely to change the emotional truth of the night. Egypt’s coach felt the match had been unfair on his side. “We looked better than the reigning champions - better in everything - but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it,” Hassan told reporters after the game.
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted (Lionel) Messi to stay in the running. We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out. It was not even checked by the VAR, and our second goal was, remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed,” he added.
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Late in the game, when Salah and Alvarez collided and Egypt demanded a foul, the referee and VAR judged that the Argentine had made a legitimate play on the ball before the contact that followed.
“Equally, if no foul is identified in the build-up to a goal, the VAR will advise the referee accordingly. Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,” Collina said.
Collina’s remarks also showed that FIFA is aware of the rising temperature around match officials. By the end of the Round of 16, this expanded World Cup had already staged 96 matches, 50 per cent more than at the same stage in Qatar four years ago, and the volume alone has brought more decisions, more reviews and more anger.
“Overall, we are happy,” Collina said. “However, 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.”
But he also pushed back strongly against allegations of bias or outside influence. “Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.”
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Published on Jul 09, 2026