The 2026 World Cup has been served with a big controversy after Egypt crashed out in the round of 16 following a dramatic 3-2 loss to Argentina. And now, FIFA's chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina has come out strongly to defend his match officials, saying nobody not even FIFA president Gianni Infantino can influence what happens on the pitch.
The whole drama started when Egypt coach Hossam Hassan exploded in anger after his team's heartbreaking defeat. His boys were leading 2-0 deep into the second half, looking like they were heading to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
But then Argentina pulled off a stunning comeback, scoring three goals in just 13 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Hassan says Egypt were robbed
Hassan did not hold back in his post-match interview. He claimed his team had been "treated unfairly" and had "suffered injustice" at the hands of French referee Francois Letexier.
The Egyptian coach went further, suggesting there was something fishy going on behind the scenes.
"Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running," Hassan said during his emotional press conference.
He also declared that he would not be watching any more matches in the tournament, saying: "There was no respect or fair officiating.
If you want to make Argentina win that much, why did you invite other countries to this tournament?"
The controversy centred on two big decisions that went against Egypt. First, a goal by Mostafa Zico in the 59th minute was disallowed after VAR spotted a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez at the start of the move.
Then, in stoppage time, Egypt felt they should have been given a penalty when Mohamed Salah went down in the box, but the referee waved play on, and seconds later Argentina broke away to score the winner.
Egyptian FA takes official action
The Egyptian Football Association did not waste time either. They filed a formal complaint with FIFA, demanding an investigation into what they called "serious refereeing mistakes" and "double standards". The EFA went as far as demanding that Letexier and his entire crew be kicked out of the World Cup.
"The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina, as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system," the EFA said in a strongly worded statement. They argued that several key incidents "raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game".
Egyptian players were equally furious. Mostafa Zico, whose goal was disallowed, shouted in his post-match interview: "The referee was unfair, unfair, completely unfair.
Everything here has been rigged for Argentina. The trophy is being awarded to Argentina". Another Egyptian player even suggested FIFA should "just give the trophy to Argentina already".
Collina stands his ground
But Collina, the legendary former referee who now runs FIFA's refereeing department, was having none of it. In a strong statement, he 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".
Collina made it crystal clear that FIFA's referees operate with complete independence. "Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president Gianni Infantino," he said.
He added that Infantino "has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence".
The refereeing boss also defended the specific decisions that caused all the uproar. He explained that VAR correctly identified a foul in the build-up to Egypt's disallowed goal.
"In the Argentina v Egypt game where Egypt number 19 Marwan Attia clearly treads on the foot of Argentina number six Lisandro Martinez," Collina explained.
"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".
On the penalty appeal for Salah, Collina said both the referee and VAR judged the contact to be "normal football contact". He also warned that "unfounded allegations have no place in our sport".
Social media goes wild
As you would expect, the controversy has been burning up social media. Images of Infantino looking worried from the stands while Argentina were trailing spread like wildfire, with fans claiming this was proof of bias.
Arab fans flooded platforms with their anger, and some businesses even posted tongue-in-cheek statements "banning" Letexier in solidarity with Egypt.
One Egyptian YouTube channel went as far as posting a video titled: "Egypt loses to Zionism, the referee, FIFA and Argentina: A complete World Cup scandal". The reactions have been intense, to say the least.
What FIFA Team One is all about
For those who might not know, FIFA Team One is the elite group of match officials selected to officiate at the World Cup.
This year's team includes 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials from all six confederations and 50 member associations. It is the most comprehensive line-up of match officials in World Cup history.
Collina, who joined FIFA in 2017, has been in charge of refereeing since then. He is widely respected in the football world, having been a World Cup final referee himself back in the day. So when he speaks about refereeing integrity, people tend to listen.
The bigger picture
This is not the first time questions have been raised about refereeing at this World Cup. There has already been controversy over FIFA's decision not to uphold Folarin Balogun's automatic ban for a red card, with European football's governing body UEFA calling it "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable". US President Donald Trump also said he asked FIFA to review that decision.
But Collina is standing firm. He believes that constructive criticism is part of football, but baseless accusations cross the line. "Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best," he said.
What happens next
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and you can bet that all eyes will be on the referee in that match.
Meanwhile, Egypt are heading home with a bitter taste in their mouths, feeling they were cheated out of a historic quarter-final spot.
FIFA has not yet announced whether they will take any action on Egypt's complaint. But one thing is clear this controversy is not going away anytime soon.
The debate about whether big teams get favourable treatment from referees is as old as football itself, and this World Cup has added more fuel to that fire.
For now, Collina has drawn a line in the sand. He says the integrity of World Cup referees is beyond question, and he is not entertaining any suggestions of a conspiracy to help Argentina. Whether fans and critics will accept that remains to be seen.
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