Referee Daniel Siebert gets FIFA backing despite Uruguay protest after Ghana win

FIFA has backed referee Daniel Siebert despite Uruguay's protest that the German referee was unjust in his handling of their World Cup victory over Ghana.

Siebert, who was at the centre of the controversy after the match where Uruguay were eliminated from the World Cup after beating Ghana, said FIFA approved his decisions despite Uruguay claiming they should have had two penalties.

Uruguay strongly questioned Siebert for not taking a penalty on the hour after Edinson Cavani was allegedly brought down and for a previous action where Darwin Núñez fell in the area of the Africans.

In the interview, the German spoke about the importance of the match between Uruguay and Ghana: “One knows what is at stake for a country in these matches. Never in my career have I felt this higher and maximum pressure. You are not nervous, but of course, you know that one decision can completely change the group stage. Therefore, one must remain neutral,” he expressed.

When asked about the action of the penalty that the Uruguayans claimed against Edinson Cavani, the German replied: "My decision was totally in line with FIFA's expectations." And he added: "Regarding this action, I was told that I was right."

As will be remembered, once the game was over, several Uruguayan players rushed at Siebert, energetically claiming for the penalty that he did not sanction.

The attitude of the Uruguayan players determined that FIFA opened a disciplinary file against José María Giménez, Diego Godín, Edinson Cavani, and Fernando Muslera.

Siebert's statements contradict what was expressed by the AUF leaders. While the neutral Gastón Tealdi commented: "We are not going to hide behind arbitration errors, although FIFA has already sent the judges who made those errors to their countries", the German Siebert revealed that FIFA gave him the reason for his performance.