The famous Italian referee and chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina has put an end to the debate on the supposed refereeing errors of Gambian Gassama during the return match of the World Cup play-offs between Algeria and Cameroon (1-2 ) on March 29 in Blida.
According to the French news agency AFP, the case related to the appeal against arbitrator Bakary Gassama has been decided. “The case is closed,” said the FIFA spokesperson.
And this, following the official response sent by FIFA to the FAF. The Algeria – Cameroon match of the second leg of the 2022 World Cup will not be replayed.
Pierluigi Collina had already specified this to the representatives of the Algerian Federation at the beginning of April.
The famous Italian referee watched all the images of the disputed actions of the match which made Fennecs coach Djamel Belmadi say that the referee of the match, Bakary Gassama had favored Cameroon.
Pierluigi Collina found nothing to complain about the performance of the Gambian referee. On the action of the goal denied to Slimani, the chairman of the FIFA Arbitration Committee confirms that there was indeed a hand from the Algerian striker. It also validates the decision concerning the action where Islam claimed a penalty, while Gassama had not whistled for a foul.
Collina also returned to Cameroon’s first goal. Again, nothing to complain about.
The former referee sent the Algerians back to the ropes, pointing to a “poor achievement” and a “bad replay”. The Italian referee indirectly pointed to the ENTV as being the real culprit for the failure of the Algerian team, and this, because the state television did not deploy great means to offer images under all the angles.
