Columbia fans file petition over England match

After a thrilling penalty shootout win over Columbia in their last 16 match, the England team is preparing for the quarterfinal against Sweden on Saturday.

Columbian fans, however, have begun a war against FIFA, urging the association to take a closer look at referee Mark Geiger's decisions in the match. The fans feel that the referee's decisions supported the England team.

Juan Diego García, a Colombian law student at the Catholic University of Colombia, started a change.org petition that has got 283,827 signatures so far. The petition calls for the review of "two controversial moves that were not subject to review by the Video Assistant Referee '' VAR '' which had an enormous impact on the development and final result of the game."

The decisions in focus are the penalty awarded to England and Carlos Bacca's disallowed extra-time goal.

'The Guardian' reported that former Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona condemned the referee's decisions. “Today I saw a monumental robbery on the pitch … a fatal mistake for a whole country,” he was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

FIFA has dismissed the allegations saying "Mr Geiger has acted in an exemplary and professional manner as an appointed match official."

This is not the first time that referee decisions have come under fan scrutiny. During the earlier Germany-South Korea match, many on social media accused the referee of being pro Germany.

The FIFA statement makes it clear that the decisions cannot be reversed.