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Rabat – FIFA could take disciplinary action against several players and coaches who strongly criticized referees during the 2026 World Cup.
The governing body is expected to wait until after the tournament before deciding whether to issue fines, suspensions or other penalties. Any action would depend on referees’ reports and the circumstances surrounding each case.
FIFA declined to comment on existing or possible disciplinary proceedings.
Hossam Hassan leads criticism after Egypt exit
Some of the strongest accusations came from Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan following his team’s 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16.
Egypt had led 2-0 before Argentina completed a late comeback. Hassan suggested that pressure placed on French referee François Letexier before the match may have affected the officiating.
Egypt forward Mostafa Ziko went further, claiming that Letexier’s decisions had undone the team’s efforts and suggesting that the tournament was being directed toward Argentina.
Ziko was part of Egypt’s historic run and scored during the tournament, with FIFA identifying him among the Pharaohs’ key players.
FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina later rejected suggestions that officials could be influenced.
“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials,” Collina said, warning that unsupported allegations could expose referees and their families to threats.
Tuchel questions referee’s reliability
England head coach Thomas Tuchel also strongly criticized the officiating following his team’s round-of-16 victory over Mexico.
Tuchel was unhappy with Australian referee Alireza Faghani, particularly following Jarell Quansah’s dismissal.
The England coach described the refereeing as erratic and unreliable, arguing that one decision could remove a team from the competition at any moment.
He also criticized the behavior of fourth officials toward coaches who stepped outside their technical areas.
Akanji claims referee favored Argentina
Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji questioned Portuguese referee João Pinheiro following his country’s quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
Akanji claimed that minor incidents were consistently called against Switzerland while similar actions involving Argentina went unpunished.
The defender said he had never previously experienced such one-sided officiating and suggested that playing against both Argentina and the referee had made Switzerland’s task considerably harder.
Deschamps questions Semi-Final officiating
Didier Deschamps also appeared dissatisfied following France’s semi-final defeat to Spain.
The former France coach publicly questioned whether the referee had been at the required level to officiate a World Cup semi-final, although he later insisted that he was only asking a question rather than directly accusing the official of poor performance.
Collina responded by defending the referee, stating that FIFA considered the official fully qualified to handle the match.
FIFA had previously described the referees selected for the tournament as the world’s best, saying appointments followed more than three years of monitoring and assessment.
Decisions expected after tournament review
FIFA’s decision to postpone possible sanctions allows its disciplinary bodies to review referee reports, television footage and the full context of each statement.
Similar comments in domestic competitions can quickly result in fines or touchline bans. FIFA, however, has avoided announcing action while the World Cup was still being played.
The governing body is now expected to determine whether the statements amounted to acceptable criticism or crossed the line into allegations capable of damaging the reputation and integrity of the competition.
