Inside the 2026 World Cup’s refereeing storm
It is unworthy that the 2026 World Cup’s defining narratives centre on manipulation and political string-pulling rather than footballing brilliance. I am no conspiracy theorist, yet the mounting evidence suggests something is amiss.
But the more I look at the facts and evidence that have piled up over the last month, the clearer a certain picture is emerging: something about this tournament does not sit right, and it is not the football.
Are the goalposts being shifted? Are the referees on call to Gianni Infantino? Has football become the ultimate political tool? Let’s walk through what actually happened and stack it against the rules IFAB says everyone is playing by and see what picture it paints.
If one were to re-referee the match between Egypt and Argentina, which is what VAR is accomplishing now, the French referee can justly be accused of double standards. All that managers and players ask for from referees is consistency. But FIFA’s referee chief, Collina, told Reuters that FIFA was satisfied with how VAR principles had been applied throughout the tournament.
