FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina dismissed allegations of bias on Thursday after Egypt complained about officiating in their 3-2 World Cup round of 16 defeat to Argentina.
Collina emphasized that all match officials maintained complete independence.
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"Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," he said.
He added that external figures have no influence over refereeing outcomes. "Nobody can question the integrity of the Fifa World Cup match officials ...
Nobody can claim that Fifa refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the Fifa president," Collina stated.
The Egyptian Football Association had raised objections after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to win with a stoppage-time goal from Enzo Fernandez.
The association said "several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions."
Coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match that officials faced pressure to keep Argentina in the competition.
VAR and Key Incidents
Addressing the disallowed goal by Mostafa Zico, Collina clarified that the Video Assistant Referee followed correct protocols due to an earlier foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martinez.
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"We believe that a foul is a foul," he said.
He reiterated that VAR is designed to catch missed on-field actions.
"Regardless of whether the foul appears 'obvious', if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene," Collina explained.
Egypt was also angered by an unpenalized challenge on Mohamed Salah before Argentina's winning goal. Collina noted that officials classified the incident as clean.
Both the referee and VAR reviewed the encounter between Salah and Julian Alvarez and determined it was "normal football contact."
Collina concluded by distinguishing between direct fouls and regular defensive play.
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"Stepping on an opponent's foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul," he said.
