FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has defended the standard of the refereeing on the 2026 World Cup, insists that his officers will not be influenced by any exterior elements or people and has defined why Egypt noticed a purpose dominated out of their 3-2 spherical of 16 loss towards Argentina.
The legendary Italian former referee, who has been serving because the chair of FIFA’s referee committee since 2017, has determined to launch a public assertion following complaints concerning the officiating on the 2026 World Cup.
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There have been a number of high-profile incidents involving referees, purple playing cards and accusations of exterior affect in the course of the 2026 event in North America.
The USA’s noticed a purple card controversially overturned after a direct cellphone name from President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
There have been additionally sturdy complaints from the Egypt camp concerning the state of the refereeing of their spherical of 16 loss towards Argentina, together with the choice to rule out a purpose that might have despatched them on their strategy to being three targets up within the second half.
Collina, talking in an interview launched on the , has defended his referees, says that ‘total, we’re pleased’ insists that there isn’t any exterior stress on the officers and has defined why the choice to rule out the Egypt purpose was right.
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Collina explains FIFA’s stance on controversial refereeing calls
“Let’s begin by saying that we now have now performed 50% extra matches than on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, and there are nonetheless eight extra big video games to be performed,” Colina started.
PIERLUIGI COLLINA – DECEMBER 05: Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, attends the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Heart for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Picture by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures)
“Total, we’re pleased. Nevertheless, with such a excessive variety of matches performed in a comparatively brief time period, it’s regular that some issues don’t go as anticipated. When that occurs, they’re able to work even more durable to make sure they’re totally ready for the subsequent match.
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“After all, constructive dialogue about selections will all the time be a part of soccer, however unfounded allegations don’t have any place in our sport. No one can query the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officers. When this occurs, it might provoke reactions that result in threats towards them and their households. This isn’t proper.
“Equally, no one can declare that FIFA Refereeing could be influenced by anybody, not even by the FIFA President [Gianni Infantino]. He has all the time proven his full help for FIFA Crew One whereas trusting us to work with full independence. Match officers make trustworthy selections and, similar to gamers and coaches, they all the time attempt to do their finest.”
Collina went on to talk particularly concerning the complaints from the Argentina vs. Egypt match.
“Often, throughout a contest, we want to not deal with particular incidents. Nevertheless, as we lately clarified what match officers could be in search of when attacking gamers attempt to forestall the opposing goalkeeper from shifting and with the ability to defend the purpose, we additionally wished to make clear one other matter that has generated debate.
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“After each purpose is scored, the VAR checks the attacking possession section (APP). If a foul is recognized within the build-up and is deemed to have had an impression on the purpose, the VAR will suggest an on-field overview. There is no such thing as a outlined restrict concerning both the gap from purpose or the period of time between the incident and the purpose.
“An instance of this got here within the Argentina v Egypt recreation the place Egypt No. 19 clearly treads on the foot of Argentina No. 6 .
“We consider {that a} foul is a foul. No matter whether or not the foul seems ‘apparent’, if the referee didn’t see it on the sphere of play, the VAR can intervene,” Collina confirmed.
PIERLUIGI COLLINA – AUGUST 10: Pierluigi Collina attends the Girls’s Gold Medal match between and United States of America in the course of the Olympic Video games 2024 at Parc des Princes on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (Picture by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Pictures)
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“Equally, if no foul is recognized within the build-up to a purpose, the VAR will advise the referee accordingly. Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first after which makes regular soccer contact has not dedicated a foul. Once more, an instance of this got here on the finish of the identical recreation. The referee and the VAR deemed it regular soccer contact between Egypt No. 10 and Argentina No. 10 .
“After all, there’ll all the time be a component of subjectivity in some selections, however we’re proud of how this precept has been utilized all through the event.”