๐จ FIFAโs chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, in a statement has firmly ๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ allegations that referees are being influenced in favor of Argentina at the 2026 World Cup ๐โ ๏ธ
โNobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐
๐๐
๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐ง๐ข ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐จ. He has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence.โ
โMatch officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best. Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ.โ โผ๏ธ
The accusations came from Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan after his sideโs round-of-16 elimination by Argentina. Hassan was furious over a goal disallowed for Egypt, and over a penalty he felt should have been awarded in stoppage time before Argentinaโs winning goal.
He spoke openly of โpressureโ on referee Francois Letexier and called the outcome โunfair.โ
FIFA has ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ to these accusations.