FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has said the that referees and video-assistant-referee officials cannot be influenced by external figures, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
"Nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA President," Collina said in an interview published on FIFA.com
The 66-year-old's comments comes after the sport's governing body is increasingly being criticised for several refereeing decisions made during the Round of 16 stage of the ongoing FIFA World Cup. The Italian has added that Infantino consistently supported FIFA's refereeing team while allowing it to operate with complete independence.
Collina, who also stood as the referee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup final played between Brazil and Germany, said none can doubts the intentions of the match officials of this tournament. "Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials." he added.
He has also condemned personal attacks directed at referees following controversial decisions, saying criticism should never cross the line into questioning their integrity or threatening them and their families. "Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport," Collina said.
In the interview, he also addressed Egypt's disallowed goal against Argentina during the Round of 16 which in his opinion has "generated debate". He pointed to an incident where Egypt midfielder Marwan Attia stepped on the foot of Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez, saying it constituted a foul that justified VAR intervention.
"We believe that a foul is a foul," Collina explained. "Regardless of whether the foul appears obvious, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene."
He also referenced a separate incident late in the same match involving Mohamed Salah and Julián Alvarez, where the referee and VAR concluded that the challenge involved normal football contact after the defender had played the ball first.
According to him, every goal is automatically reviewed by the VAR. If a foul is identified during the attacking move that directly impacts the goal, the VAR can recommend an on-field review regardless of how far from goal-or how long before the goal-the incident occurred.
Reflecting on the tournament so far, Collina highlighted the unprecedented scale of the expanded 48-team World Cup, noting that 96 matches have already been played-50% more than the total number of games at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022-with another eight fixtures still to come.
"Overall, we are happy," Collina said, while acknowledging that it is inevitable for some decisions to generate debate given the number of matches played in a short period. He stressed that officials continuously review performances and work to improve ahead of every game.
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Fans Not Convinced
However, Collina's interview have done little to convince the football fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their dissatisfaction. Several users posted critical reactions in the comments section of FIFA Media's official X post that shared the interview.
Just like this goat ???? he did his best to help Argentina win ???? pic.twitter.com/isvAB7imhe
— Just monne???????? (@scelomartin52) July 9, 2026
Using Collina to make such a speech is disgusting.
— yach1d (@yach1d) July 9, 2026
Just hand them the trophy, you're wasting everyone's time
Collina picked a strange week to say refereeing can't be influenced. Egypt were up 2-0 with 11 minutes left, had a goal chalked off for a phantom tug nobody else on the pitch seemed to notice, watched a stonewall penalty on Hamdy Fathy get waved through, then conceded three in…
— Siyad Madey (@MadeySiyad) July 9, 2026
lol we know how it's influenced pic.twitter.com/UAzYJDwLrL
— Mav (@Maverick_XBT) July 9, 2026
Rigged for Argentina pic.twitter.com/a7KdWljvae
— A7 ™ ???????????????? (@_iia7ix) July 9, 2026
You ruined your own reputation.
— Khojo_Hazard ???????????????? (@Khojo_HazardCR7) July 9, 2026
Can you tell us why the most bookable player currently in the history of football doesn't even have a yellow card in this world cup edition even after all those nasty tackles in Argentina games? ????
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