Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the Referees Committee at the International Federation of Association Football "FIFA", spoke about the controversial incidents in the Egypt vs Argentina match in the 2026 World Cup.
The Argentine national team defeated its Egyptian counterpart 3-2 in the match that brought the two teams together last Tuesday evening at Atlanta Stadium in the United States of America for the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
The Egypt vs Argentina match witnessed many controversial refereeing decisions by French referee François Letexier, most notably the disallowance of a goal for the Pharaohs and the awarding of another similar one for the Tango dancers.
Collina speaks about the controversial moments in the Egypt and Argentina match
Collina said in statements via the "FIFA" website: "Usually during tournaments we prefer not to comment on specific refereeing incidents, but after we recently clarified what the referees will focus on in cases where attacking players try to prevent the opposing team's goalkeeper from moving and being able to defend his goal, we also wanted to clarify another issue that has caused a lot of controversy".
He added: "After every goal is scored, the video assistant referee reviews the attacking possession phase, and if an infringement is detected during the build-up of the attack and it is proven to have had an impact on the scoring of the goal, the video referee recommends a field review of the incident, and there is no specific limit either for the distance at which the infringement occurred from the goal or for the time interval between its occurrence and the scoring of the goal".
He continued: "An example of this is what happened in the Argentina vs Egypt match, where Egyptian national team player Marwan Attia clearly stepped on the foot of Argentine national team player Lisandro Martínez".
He went on: "We believe that an infringement remains an infringement, regardless of whether it appears obvious or not; if the referee on the field did not see the infringement during the match, the video assistant referee has the right to intervene to inform him of it".
He continued: "Similarly, if no infringement is detected during the build-up of the attack that preceded the goal, the video assistant referee informs the referee on the field accordingly; stepping on the opponent's foot is considered an infringement, whereas if the defender touches the ball first and then natural contact resulting from play occurs, no infringement is awarded".
He added: "Once again, an example of this appeared in the final minutes of the same match, as the referee on the field and the video referee considered the contact between Egyptian national team player Mohamed Salah and Argentine national team player Julián Álvarez to be natural contact within the framework of play and not warranting the award of an infringement".
Collina concluded his statements: "And of course, there will always remain a degree of personal judgment in some refereeing decisions, but we are satisfied with how this principle has been applied throughout the tournament".
