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When FIFA announced the officiating crew for Thursday's France vs. Morocco World Cup quarterfinal match, suspicion mixed with outrage quickly bubbled up online.
All five referees for France-Morocco are from Argentina, which beat France in the 2022 World Cup final and is still playing in quarterfinals on the opposite side of the bracket. It is the first time in the 2026 World Cup that all five officials are from the same country.
"We have to deal with it. I trust the referees. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee," France head coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday, July 7.
FIFA monitored refs from all six continental confederations over the last three years and used that performance information to select its 2026 World Cup pool: 52 referees, 88 assistants and 30 video assistant referees. The officials come from 50 different countries.
Somali referee Omar Artan, one of the 52 officials chosen, wasn't able to attend because he was denied entry to the United States for the tournament.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, said that the selected match officials attended seminars, underwent fitness tests and officiated FIFA tournaments. All were given access to FIFA's physical and mental health professionals at a training camp held in Miami before the World Cup began.
When it comes to appointing referees for specific World Cup matches, FIFA tracks officials' performances throughout the tournament and hands out assignments three or four days before each game. FIFA also does not allow officials to work games involving their own country to avoid conflicts of interest.
The lead official, two assistants and fourth official are on the field during the game. There is also a designated reserve assistant referee who can replace any of those four officials in case of injury.
The VAR team of video assistant referees work inside a control room, where they watch instant replay of every play and alert the on-field officials if something if missed. Final decisions, however, rest with the referee on the field.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are all Argentines officiating France-Morocco? How FIFA assigns World Cup refs
Continue reading...
All five referees for France-Morocco are from Argentina, which beat France in the 2022 World Cup final and is still playing in quarterfinals on the opposite side of the bracket. It is the first time in the 2026 World Cup that all five officials are from the same country.
"We have to deal with it. I trust the referees. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee," France head coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday, July 7.
How are World Cup referees chosen?
FIFA monitored refs from all six continental confederations over the last three years and used that performance information to select its 2026 World Cup pool: 52 referees, 88 assistants and 30 video assistant referees. The officials come from 50 different countries.
Somali referee Omar Artan, one of the 52 officials chosen, wasn't able to attend because he was denied entry to the United States for the tournament.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer, said that the selected match officials attended seminars, underwent fitness tests and officiated FIFA tournaments. All were given access to FIFA's physical and mental health professionals at a training camp held in Miami before the World Cup began.
When it comes to appointing referees for specific World Cup matches, FIFA tracks officials' performances throughout the tournament and hands out assignments three or four days before each game. FIFA also does not allow officials to work games involving their own country to avoid conflicts of interest.
The lead official, two assistants and fourth official are on the field during the game. There is also a designated reserve assistant referee who can replace any of those four officials in case of injury.
The VAR team of video assistant referees work inside a control room, where they watch instant replay of every play and alert the on-field officials if something if missed. Final decisions, however, rest with the referee on the field.
Who are the France-Morocco referees?
- Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
- Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)
- Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade (Argentina)
- Fourth Official: Dario Herrera (Argentina)
- Reserve Assistant Referee: Cristian Navarro (Argentina)
- VAR: Hernan Mastrangelo (Argentina)
- Assistant VAR: Leodan Gonzalez (Uruguay)
- Support VAR: Tatiana Guzman (Nicaragua)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are all Argentines officiating France-Morocco? How FIFA assigns World Cup refs
Continue reading...
