In this analysis for the Guardian, former referee Chris Foy argues that officiating at the 2026 World Cup has generally been sound, pushing back against criticism from England manager Thomas Tuchel — who called it unreliable and erratic after England's win over Mexico — and against the wider noise generated by figures including Donald Trump. Foy accepts that referees have made occasional errors but insists they have got most decisions right, with VAR helping to correct mistakes when they occur. He maintains that officials should tune out external pressure and focus on the game in front of them.

Working through several contested incidents, Foy backs the decisions to disallow Egypt's goal against Argentina (citing a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez) and to let Julián Álvarez's involvement in Argentina's winner stand, and defends the red cards shown to Jarell Quansah and Folarin Balogun as justified on player-safety grounds. He notes that Balogun's ban was unusually suspended under Article 27 of Fifa's disciplinary code, and that there have been 13 red cards so far, up from four at each of the previous two tournaments. Foy also concedes VAR has not been flawless, pointing to Vinícius Júnior's wrongly disallowed goal for Brazil against Scotland as a case where the on-field "goal" decision should have stood, while agreeing VAR was right to award France a penalty against Paraguay.