FIFA refutes reports American ref asked for Portuguese player's shirt
FIFA has issued a statement refuting reports that American referee Mark Geiger asked for a Portuguese player's shirt at half-time of Wednesday's match between Portugal and Morocco.
FIFA statement related to media reports about FIFA Referee Mark Geiger @FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/SZ6QHMfyPq
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 21, 2018
Portugal won the match 1-0. After, some of Morocco's players expressed their displeasure at the officiating, with one suggesting Geiger's actions went beyond bad calls on the field.
"I do not know what he is used to," Morocco's Nordin Amrabat told Dutch television, as translated by Martin Rogers of USA Today. "But he was very impressed with Cristiano Ronaldo and I hear from Pepe that he asked (Ronaldo) in the first half if he could have (Pepe's) shirt.
"What are we talking about? At the World Cup? It’s not a circus here."
Players often exchange shirts after games, but match officials cannot participate in this tradition due to their strict code of conduct.
Geiger is regarded as one of the best referees in Major League Soccer and previously officiated matches at the 2012 Olympics and 2014 World Cup. Wednesday's match was his first assignment at the 2018 World Cup.