Italian Pierluigi Collina, head of the FIFA referees committee, settled the controversy surrounding the refereeing incidents in the Egypt-Argentina match.
Argentina's national team qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, after winning against Egypt's national team 3-2.
The Egyptian Football Association filed a complaint against French referee François Letexier, who sparked controversy after his refereeing decisions during the match. (Read the details)
Pierluigi Collina, head of the FIFA referees committee, said via the official FIFA website: "In the Argentina-Egypt match, it was clear that Marwan Attia clearly stepped on Lisandro Martínez's foot. For us, the foul remains a foul, and even if the referee on the pitch did not notice it, the video referee has the right to intervene."
The referee disallowed a goal for Egypt's national team scored by Mustafa Zico, due to a foul on Lisandro Martínez by Marwan Attia.
Collina added: "At the end of the same match, the referee and the video referee considered the contact between Mohamed Salah and Julián Álvarez to be natural contact in football, which did not warrant awarding any foul."
The French referee did not award a penalty to Egypt's national team player Mohamed Salah, before the ball rebounded and allowed Argentina's national team to score the winning goal.
He continued: "After every goal, the video referee reviews the entire attacking possession phase, and if a foul affecting the goal is detected, the referee is called to review the incident, and there are no time or spatial limits to this review."
He added: "No one can claim that FIFA refereeing is subject to any influence, even from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. We have always been given full confidence and left to work with complete independence. The referees make their decisions with integrity and do their utmost, just as the players and coaches do."
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He stressed: "Constructive discussion about refereeing decisions will always remain part of football, but accusations that are not based on any evidence have no place in our game. No one has the right to question the integrity of World Cup referees, because such claims could lead to threats against the referees and their families, which is unacceptable."
He continued: "In general, we are satisfied with the level of refereeing at the 2026 World Cup, but with such a large number of matches, it is natural that some things may not go as expected, and when that happens, we work even harder to be better prepared for the next matches."
He concluded his remarks: "Some decisions will remain subject to personal judgment, but we are satisfied with the way these standards have been applied throughout the tournament."
English legend Alan Shearer denounced referee François Letexier's decisions in the Egypt-Argentina match.
Shearer said via his X account: "Either both are mistakes or neither is, but they told us they would not reassess the refereeing decisions.. What happened was bad."
After Egypt's national team took a two-goal lead, the Tango turned the score around in the final minutes and scored 3 goals.
Egypt's national team exited the World Cup with their heads held high after delivering a strong and distinguished performance throughout the tournament
