Messi, Argentina lead to come-from-behind victory over Egypt
Lionel Messi helped Argentina beat Egypt 3-2, keeping the defending champions alive and advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals.
FIFA’s referee has defended two controversial officiating decisions made during Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, stressing that match referees are not influenced by the governing body when calling matches.
“No one doubts the integrity of FIFA World Cup match officials. If something like this happens, it could provoke a reaction that could lead to threats against them or their families. This is not right,” Pierluigi Collina said in an interview on the governing body’s website. “Likewise, no one can claim that a FIFA referee can be influenced by anyone, not even the FIFA President.”
What was the controversial decision in Argentina’s win over Egypt at the World Cup?
In that match, what appeared to be Egypt’s second goal was ruled out by the referee after a VAR review for a foul in the build-up. Egypt scored a second goal to take a 2-0 lead, but Argentina fought back and tied the game at 2-2.
It was Julian Alvarez who took the ball from Mo Salah inside the Egyptian area as Albiceleste chased the winner. The Egyptian players asked for a penalty instead of the referee allowing them to play, but VAR refused to intervene. Alvarez passed to Lautaro Martínez, who set up Enzo Fernandes for the winning goal.
After the match, Egypt’s players and coach Hossam Hassan were furious, with the coach claiming, “The result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch during the match and external factors before the match.It appears that there was pressure on the Argentine referee regarding this result.”
However, Corinna took the unusual step of reflecting on the play in an interview.
“Normally during a competition, you don’t want to focus on any particular event,” he says. “However, as we recently clarified what match referees are looking for when an attacking player interferes with the movement of an opposing goalkeeper so that he can defend his goal, we also wanted to clarify another topic that has sparked debate.”
The former Italian referee pointed out that when VAR checks whether a foul has been committed that leads to an attacking possession phase, “there is no clear limit on the distance from the goal or the time between the incident and the goal.”
The referee said, “It is a foul to step on an opponent’s foot, but a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal soccer contact is not committing a foul.”
He said Alvarez’s late possession was an example of a play in which the referee and VAR were right to avoid intervention.
“Of course, there will always be an element of subjectivity in some decisions, but I am happy with how this principle was applied throughout the tournament,” concluded Collina.
Argentina will face Switzerland in the World Cup quarter-finals, but the referee remains a hot topic. An all-Argentine official was chosen for the quarter-finals against France and Morocco, but while the VAR team will be made up of officials from another country, this will be the first time the crew will be made up of only a single nationality.
