I've been watching football for decades, and I can't remember a World Cup with refereeing this bad. It's not just one or two questionable calls—it's every game. The latest example: New Zealand's Ben Old getting his shorts and underwear torn apart by an Egyptian player, left bleeding, and somehow no foul was given. I mean, what are we doing here?
How is this not a foul?
Let's break down the Ben Old incident. The guy literally had his shorts ripped, his underwear torn, and he was bleeding. The ref waved play on. If that's not a foul, I don't know what is. It's not like the Egyptian player accidentally brushed him—this was a full-on assault on his lower half. And yet, nothing. No card, no free kick, not even a sympathy hug. It's baffling.
This isn't an isolated case. Remember the tackle on Doku in the Egypt game? Or the one on Trossard against Iran? Both were clear fouls, probably worthy of reds, and neither even got a yellow. It's like the refs left their cards in the locker room. I get that refereeing is hard, but this is the World Cup. These are supposed to be the best officials in the world. Right now, they look like they won a contest.
Red cards are up, but serious fouls are ignored
Here's the weird part: this World Cup has more red cards than the last two editions combined. So refs are handing out reds for something—maybe dissent or second yellows—but when it comes to violent or dangerous play, they swallow the whistle. It's inconsistent as hell. You can't tell me that a guy getting his shorts ripped isn't at least a yellow. The ref was probably looking at his watch or something.
Some people say it's because refs from certain confederations are biased. I'm not going to name names, but there's a pattern. For example, an Egyptian ref worked the Egyptian cup semi-final this year. And now he's reffing Egypt at the World Cup? That seems like a conflict of interest. If an Aussie ref who regularly worked in New Zealand was reffing a New Zealand game at the World Cup, there'd be outrage. So why is this any different?
Should refs be allowed to officiate their own country's games?
No, they shouldn't. It's that simple. FIFA needs to step in and make sure refs aren't officiating matches involving their home country's league or federation. It's not about accusing anyone of cheating—it's about avoiding even the appearance of bias. The fact that this is even a debate is ridiculous. If you work for the Egyptian FA, you shouldn't be reffing Egypt at the World Cup. Full stop.
And before anyone says, 'But they're professionals, they can be impartial'—come on. Human nature is a thing. You don't put a player's dad in charge of VAR for his son's game. Same logic applies here.
What can be done about it?
First, FIFA needs to investigate some of these refs. There are a few performances this tournament that deserve a closer look. Second, they need to implement stricter rules about who can ref which games. No more refs from the same confederation as one of the teams, unless it's unavoidable. Third, they need to hold refs accountable. If a ref misses a blatant foul like the one on Ben Old, they should be sent home. Not just for one game—for the rest of the tournament.
Fans are frustrated. Players are frustrated. Even the commentators are running out of ways to say 'that should have been a foul.' It's ruining the World Cup. We tune in to watch the best players in the world, not the worst referees.
So yeah, something needs to change. Otherwise, we'll be talking about the refs more than the goals. And that's a sad state of affairs.
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