One thing that has not been missing from the 2026 World Cup is controversy. FIFA have been at the center of much of it, but there are also others at fault.
That’s their stance, anyway. Once the tournament comes to a close, we should expect quite a bit of fallout from certain comments that have been made in heated post-match reactions in recent weeks.
It largely centers around complaints about match officials, and though we haven’t yet seen disciplinary action against any of the vocal critics, that doesn’t mean they are out of the woods.
TalkingPoints user and England fan @chillout has had his say…
FIFA waiting until World Cup ends to address officiating outbursts
It wasn’t until after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that FIFA dished out sanctions for contentious moments that occurred during the tournament.
According to The Athletic, they will take the same approach this time out.
Action taken “will depend on the referees’ reports”, and while FIFA have declined to comment on the possibility of impending sanctions, “sources with knowledge of the situation” are predicting decisions will be made after the final on July 19th.
Some of the potential culprits include Egypt manager Hossam Hassan and striker Mostafa Zico, whose ‘corruption’ outbursts after the loss to Argentina went further than any other example.
But the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Manuel Akanji might also be targeted for their officiating criticism.
In the Premier League and other top divisions, this type of issue would be addressed instantly, but it sounds like FIFA are happy to wait before coming down on offenders with disciplinary action.
The officiating side of the game has been a major focus of the World Cup discourse, which should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody. But FIFA maintain that accusations of bias are completely unfounded.
Chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, recently said: “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials.
“When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.”
That may be true, though to assume referees won’t be under the microscope when the stakes are this high is silly. And the governing body haven’t done themselves any favours with some of their appointment decisions, as well as the massive scandal involving Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump.
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