by While Polish referee Syzmon Marciniak is among the favorites for Sunday’s World Cup final, it largely depends on who FIFA referee chief Pierluigi Collina chooses for Wednesday’s second semi-final.
Alongside Marciniak, Mexican referee Cesar Ramos and American Ismael Elfath are key contenders for the final, the pinnacle of a referee’s career. Alternatively, one of Marciniak and Ramos could be selected for the second semi-final between Morocco and France, which will be announced on Monday and will give some clues as to who will take the final.
Major League Soccer referee Elfath, who was born in Morocco and moved to the United States at age 18, cannot take responsibility for Wednesday’s home country semi-final. Had Morocco gone that far, he would not have been able to referee the final.
British referee Michael Oliver is among those sent home. The grand quarter-final between Brazil and Croatia was awarded to him. Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio, who was heavily criticized by the English players for his role in the quarter-final defeat to France, continues the tournament.
Collina handed the first semi-final between Argentina and Croatia to Italian Daniele Orsato, who also led the opening match of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador. Orsato was another potential final referee but will have to make do with the semi-finals.
Marciniak has taken charge of France against Denmark and Argentina’s second-round draw with Australia so far. He missed Euro 2020 after doctors diagnosed him with tachycardia, a condition where the heart beats abnormally fast. He is a regular Champions and Europa League referee and was also one of the officials at the Fifa Arab Cup test event held in Qatar a year ago.
Referee appointments are recommended by Collina and her team, who then need committee approval. The selection process has been under scrutiny in recent days, as Portuguese players and staff were dissatisfied with the appointment of an Argentine referee Facundo Tello for their quarter-final against Morocco.
In light of complaints from Argentine footballers about referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz’s performance in their quarter-final match against the Netherlands, Pepe said on Saturday it was “unacceptable” for FIFA to appoint an Argentine referee to referee his team’s match. Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez called the Spanish referee “useless”.
Referee Sampaio’s performance increased the pressure on Collina and Fifa to finish the tournament smoothly. As England were eliminated from the World Cup, English players and experts criticized referee Sampaio’s performance.
The Brazilian referee awarded England two penalties in a 2-1 defeat to France – the latter missed late by captain Harry Kane – but was still heavily criticized.
England’s first problem with refereeing was in the formation of the first goal after Dayot Upamecano challenged Bukayo Saka to protest a foul.
Kane also felt tripped by Upamecano inside the box in the first half. Centre-back Harry Maguire said the referee’s performance was “really poor from the first minute”. [There were] Five or six fouls in the first 15 minutes is not a yellow card.
“For me, the first goal ahead is a foul. [to it on] Bukayo [Saka].
“I don’t want to get into this too much because I’m going to be penalized at the end but it was really weak. The decisions he made throughout the game, not just big decisions, but big decisions never gave us anything, even though they were wrong.”
How many referees work in Qatar 2002?
36 referees will manage 64 matches in the World Cup tournament. These referees come from 29 different countries.
Which country has the most referees in the World Cup?
From different nationalities represented; There are two in four countries. These are serial World Cup winners France, Brazil, Argentina and, you know, little old England.
How many English referees are there in the World Cup?
England has two referees – Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor.
