"FIFA" The Argentina-Switzerland summit is due to a controversial decision

What did he do in the Champions League?

FIFA has selected Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro, who has a controversial refereeing history in the Champions League, to officiate the upcoming clash between Argentina and Switzerland in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals in Kansas City.

Pinheiro (38) was given the job of refereeing the match despite huge controversy in last season’s Champions League semi-final when he ruled out a clear penalty for Bayern Munich against PSG after a simple handball by Joao Neves as the players and Bayer Leverkusen were furious.

However, what is remarkable, according to the newspaper.tycsports:The Argentine News reported that the Mouse Room did not invite him to watch the shootout, an incident that continues to anger German fans to this day.

Pineiro’s impressive record does not end there. In his first appearance at the current World Cup, he officiated the group stage match between Switzerland and Bosnia, which ended 4-1, during which he showed 3 yellow cards and a straight red card to defender Tarik Mahremovic in what was described as “tense refereeing”.

Pinheiro has been a familiar face in major European football leagues since his Champions League debut in the 2022/2023 season.

He began his refereeing career in the Portuguese league in 2015 before turning international in 2016. He also officiated the European Super Cup final between PSG and Tottenham last August, picking up four yellow cards.

The confrontation between Argentina and Switzerland will be his first in his career with “Tango”, while he previously led the Swiss national team in the group stage. He also refereed the Canada-AAU match of the 32nd round and received two yellow cards.

FIFA’s decision to appoint Pineiro for the quarter-final match again raises questions, especially as the clash pits the world champions and title-seekers against Switzerland, for whom the Portuguese referee previously officiated in a match that saw a direct sending-off and four goals.

 

Those responsible for the meeting @FIFAWorldCup The 99th and 100th matches have been scheduled. 🤝

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 9, 2026

 

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