July 9 : FIFA refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officials operated with complete independence. In an interview published on inside.fifa.com on Thursday, Collina said cr

Egyptian supporters, along with many neutrals, accused officials of favouring the reigning world champions.

FIFA has faced scrutiny throughout the tournament over its video assistant referee, which overturned a goal that could have helped Egypt defeat the South American giant.