FIFA referee chief defends disallowed Egypt goal against Argentina and denies Gianni Infantino influences World Cup officials

Collina has stated that "nobody can question the integrity" of the World Cup match officials following "unfounded allegations" made in the wake of Egypt's 3-2 loss to Argentina. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) had a strongly-worded statement released following the match, demanding an investigation into "double standards" and technical failures of the VAR system.

"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."

The fallout from the match included suggestions of external pressure to keep the tournament's biggest stars in the competition after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed his role in having Folarin Balogun's ban suspended for the game against Belgium. However, Collina was quick to dismiss any notion that FIFA President Gianni Infantino had any sway over the men in the middle. He clarified that the officiating department operates with total autonomy to ensure sporting fairness across all matches.

Collina added: "Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino]. He [Infantino] has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence. Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best."

Egypt's anger centred on a disallowed goal by Mostafa Zico that would have changed the complexion of the game while the Pharaohs were leading. Collina explained that many supporters misunderstand the scope of VAR regarding the attacking possession phase (APP). He confirmed that the officials were correct to go back and penalize Marwan Attia for a foul on Lisandro Martinez earlier in the move.

"In the Argentina v Egypt game where Egypt number 19 Marwan Attia clearly treads on the foot of Argentina number six Lisandro Martinez," Collina noted. "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. There is no defined limit regarding either the distance from goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal."

The Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan was vocal in his belief that the officials favored the defending champions. Hassan questioned why a potential foul on Mohamed Salah in the box was ignored just moments before Argentina's winner. Collina defended the non-call on Salah.

He concluded: "Again, an example of this came at the end of the same game. The referee and the VAR deemed it normal football contact between Egypt number 10 Mohamed Salah and Argentina number 9 Julian Alvarez. Of course, there will always be an element of subjectivity in some decisions, but we are happy with how this principle has been applied throughout the tournament."