LAUSANNE.- Pierluigi Collinaresponsible for arbitration in the FIFAdefended this Thursday the “integrity” of the World Cup 2026 and justified the decisions of the French referee François Letexiercriticized by Egypt after its elimination at the hands of Argentina.
“Of course, a constructive debate about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded accusations have no place in our sport. No one can question the integrity of the referees” of the tournament, he said in an interview published on the FIFA website.
In the opinion of the former Italian referee, “no one can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even the FIFA president.” Gianni Infantinowho “has always given his full support” to the referee team, respecting their “independence.”
Collina did not mention, however, the interference in the sports field of the American president. donald trumpwho acknowledged having called Infantino to have the red card imposed on the American striker reviewed Folarin Balogun. Immediately afterwards, the organization’s disciplinary commission lifted the sanction imposed on the player, who was once again eligible for the round of 16 against Belgium, without ever offering a background explanation.
Collina, taking stock of the tournament, stopped in the round of 16 Argentina-Egypt (3-2). The French referee François Letexier was widely criticized and even Egyptian Federation On Wednesday, he asked for his exclusion due to “flagrant refereeing errors.”
“After each goal scored, video assistance to the referee (VAR) reviews the offensive possession phase”, to detect a possible “lack in the preparation of the action” that had an impact on the goal, he recalled.
Examples
He gave two examples taken from Argentina-Egypt, validating in each case Letexier’s decision: first, the rejection of the Egyptian forward’s goal Mostafa Zico (58′), because his teammate Marwan Attia had “clearly stepped on the foot” of the Argentine Lisandro Martínez.
Finally, just before the third Argentine goal in added time, the Egyptians had claimed a penalty for contact in the area between the Argentine Julian Alvarez and the egyptian star Mohamed Salahwho fell face down: “the referee and the VAR considered that it was a normal football contact,” the Italian settled.
