FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejects claims of bias and “unfounded allegations” following Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt in their World Cup last-16 match in Atlanta. Egypt coach Hossam Hassan publicly criticized the officiating and suggested the referees may have faced “external pressure” to favour Argentina. He also described his team as victims of “injustice,” saying the decisions went against Egypt, including a goal disallowed after VAR found a foul in the build-up. Collina says constructive discussion of refereeing decisions is part of football, but questioning officials’ integrity is not acceptable. He warns that such accusations can provoke reactions, including threats against match officials and their families, and he states that no one can influence FIFA refereeing—explicitly including even the FIFA president. Collina also explains the VAR process, saying there is no fixed limit on how far from goal or how much time can pass between an infringement and a resulting goal, and that if a foul is identified and deemed to affect the scoring situation, the VAR can prompt an on-field review. Multiple outlets report Collina’s remarks were posted on FIFA’s website.
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejects bias claims after Argentina’s win vs Egypt
FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina rejects claims of bias and “unfounded allegations” following Argentina’s 3-2 win over Egypt in their World Cup last-16 match in Atlanta. Egypt coach Hossam Hass...
- Argentina beats Egypt 3-2 in the World Cup last 16 in Atlanta, with multiple contentious VAR-related decisions discussed afterward.
- Egypt coach Hossam Hassan accuses match officials of malpractice and suggests they may have faced external pressure to favour Argentina.
- FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina says constructive debate about decisions is normal, but “unfounded allegations” about officials’ integrity are not.
- Collina says match officials cannot be influenced, and that attacks or threats toward officials and their families are not acceptable.
- Collina explains that VAR can overturn goals when a foul is identified in the build-up and is judged to have an impact on the goal, regardless of distance or time.
Collina says questioning officials’ integrity has no place in football after Egypt’s complaints over VAR decisions.
Referees chief Pierluigi Collina defends officials after Egypt coach Hossam Hassan accused them of malpractice following Argentina's victory.
1 month agoLOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina has hit out at "unfounded allegations" against World Cup match officials in the wake of Argentina's controversial last 16 victory over Egypt. In comments posted on FIFA's official website, Collina defended officials who oversaw Argentina's 3-2 win in Atlanta and were accused of malpractice by Egypt coach Hossam Hassan. Hassan speculated that the officiating team for the game, headed by French referee Francois Letexier may have been subjected to "external pressure" to favour Argentina. The claims came after a string of decisions went against the Egyptians, including a goal chalked off by VAR for a foul committed much earlier in the move at the other end of the field. Collina though rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing or a conspiracy to assist Argentina's World Cup campaign. "Of course, 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. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right. "Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA President (Gianni Infantino). "Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best." Egypt coach Hassan said his team had been the victims of "injustice" by officials. "We have been cheated unfairly today, we have suffered injustice," Hassan said after his team's loss, suggesting that FIFA "wanted to keep the world champions in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running." "In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champions received support at every level," Hassan told BeIn Sports. But on the specific case of the decision to disallow Mostafa Zico's superb breakaway goal which would have given Egypt a 2-0 lead, Collina said referees had acted correctly after VAR spotted a foul in the build-up. "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," the Italian said. "There is no defined limit regarding either the distance from goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal. "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."
1 month agoCollina 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
1 month agoPierluigi Collina said that such allegations of bias could provoke threats against referees and their families.
1 month ago
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