Appointments of match officials at 2026 FIFA World Cup, Semifinals.
Match #101
Semifinals
14 July 2026, 21:00 CET
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
FRANCE - SPAIN
Referee: Ivan Barton SLV
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran SLV
Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Pupiro NCA
Fourth Official: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Reserve AR: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Standby Video Assistant Referee: :
Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
Match #102
Semifinals
15 July 2026, 21:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
ENGLAND - ARGENTINA
Referee:
Assistant Referee 1:
Assistant Referee 2:
Fourth Official:
Reserve AR:
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Standby Video Assistant Referee: :
Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
BARTON 👏
ReplyDeleteRemaining referees for the tournament:
ReplyDelete(AFC)
🇦🇺 Alireza Faghani
🇯🇴 Adham Makhadmeh
(CAF)
🇲🇦 Jalal Jayed
(CONCACAF)
🇸🇻 Ivan Barton
🇺🇸 Ismail Elfath
(CONMEBOL)
🇻🇪 Jesús Valenzuela
🇧🇷 Wilton Sampaio
(UEFA)
🇳🇴 Espen Eskås
🇵🇱 Szymon Marciniak
🇮🇹 Maurizio Mariani
🇸🇪 Glenn Nyberg
🇵🇹 João Pinheiro
🇸🇮 Slavko Vinčić
Happy for Barton that he got the 2nd biggest match of the WORLD CUP, but slightly sad he wasn't given the finals as he has been the best referee in my view. Probably an age thing - and he will be one of the favourites for the next edition.
ReplyDeleteBarton can be proud of his efforts - thoroughly well deserved
Remaining referees for the tournament:
ReplyDelete(AFC)
🇦🇺 Alireza Faghani
🇯🇴 Adham Makhadmeh
(CAF)
🇲🇦 Jalal Jayed
(CONCACAF)
🇸🇻 Ivan Barton
🇺🇸 Ismail Elfath
(CONMEBOL)
🇻🇪 Jesús Valenzuela
🇧🇷 Wilton Sampaio
(UEFA)
🇳🇴 Espen Eskås
🇵🇱 Szymon Marciniak
🇮🇹 Maurizio Mariani
🇸🇪 Glenn Nyberg
🇵🇹 João Pinheiro
🇸🇮 Slavko Vinčić
But why are you leaving István Kovács out of the discussion? He's there too.
DeleteNo, he has probably packed his bags and waiting for his flight to Bucharest
DeleteWhile I can be pleased with the appointment of the referee from El Salvador, on the other, however, it once again shows how these dynamics always work. It was difficult to imagine him being selected for the Final, given the other candidates and the fact that his football association simply can't be compared with some of the bigger ones. As a result, the very big appointment is out of reach for him.
ReplyDeleteHe could be considered for the Final on next WC, but of course nobody knows what will happen by then. So many things can change, circumstances evolve, careers take unexpected turns, and that opportunity may never come again.
At the same time, the referee who will be appointed for the Final will probably not have performed better than he has. Unfortunately, that is often how things work. However, even a semifinal appointment was not sure, so I am genuinely very happy for him.
The same story has happened with referees like Ravshan Irmatov and later Alireza Faghani, both of whom were seen as future World Cup Final referees in subsequent editions, but still that opportunity never materialized.
Agree but Faghani has a chance this year, what do you think?
Delete+ Cümeyt Çakır
DeleteAlso knew he wasn't going to officiate ARG V ENG because fifa need to find a puppet that match and they know Barton will be hard to control and will like referee fairly
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThey will probably give it for Elfath or Mariani (maybe Valenzuela too). And if this guy is able to do what FIFA wants from him, then they need another puppet for ARG final.
DeleteI am very happy for Barton. I suspect he wasn't assigned to the final match because of his age; otherwise, he absolutely deserved to officiate it. Being at this level at 34 is an incredible achievement.
ReplyDeleteWho do we think was the biggest “disappointment” of this WC?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion: Dahane Beida, knowing his CV, I would’ve expected at least 3 games by him…
(I think we all can agree that Makhadmeh was the biggest surprise)
Felix. By nothing wrong, he was punished.
DeleteTantashev was the biggest disappointment for looking like he wouldn't even be able to handle a men's amateur game yet he got a WC R16 match.
DeleteTantashev had 1 bad game and gets crucified as the biggest disappointment in his debut World Cup ???? What expectations were there from him? To officiate a quarters or semis ? Come on
DeleteThe criterion is not "having done nothing wrong," but rather having performed "exceptionally well."
DeleteSo Elfath Faghani Sampaio and Marciniak -> vying for the last 3 games ?
ReplyDeleteENG V ARG semis should have been Barton I think now it could be Sampaio . ( if it's Marciniak , why even play the game )
3rd / 4th Political Elfath appointment
F: Faghani farewell
lol no way they're putting a Brazilian ref in charge of ARG - ENG....it will be Vincic, Makkelie or Faghani (my preferred choice). Elfath will get the Final and a CAF ref the 3rd place match.
DeleteMakkelie has been sent home
DeleteTomke ah forgot about that... yeah then Faghani could be semis but I think Elfath 3rd / 4th let's see
DeleteHow do we know who has been sent home?
DeleteThis is such an awesome thing. I didn't think that, despite being the best ref in the tournament, Barton actually had a chance to get a SF or the Final. I figured Collina would give some older guy who doesn't deserve it based on merit, but just on politics.
ReplyDeleteIt's also going to be great to see him on a European game where, for the most part, the teams act as civilized players, as opposed to the usual CONCACAF and CONMEBOL maniacs he is usually having to ref where he has to throw out 10 cards and act like a military general on the field.
Seeing him ref 2 of the 4 best teams in the world will be a real treat. I doubt he's going to end up having to pull any of his usual antics ingrained in him from CONCACAF games. It's probably going to be a walk in the park for him. The only concern might be that a ton of these players play in the Big 5 European leagues and so he won't really have a rapport with them the way a UEFA ref might.
Yeah will be interesting to see two UEFA teams with a non-UEFA ref and vice versa for the first time in the tournament.
DeleteYes, I agree; I’m also curious to see how it fares against two European teams.
DeleteFaghani officiated the final match of the Club World Cup last year. Honestly, I don't think they will give him another final.
ReplyDeleteWhy not?
DeleteThe fate of Argentina will likely determine the refereeing team for the final. My prediction is a UEFA referee for ENG-ARG and Elfath/Sampaio for the last two. With Argentina, Elfath takes it; without Argentina, Sampaio is the one. The other goes to the 3rd place encounter.
ReplyDeleteWell, everyone that watched this tournament already knows Argentina wil get it, so probably Elfath then.
DeleteBarton !! Excellent, best ref at World Cup by far. - 2030 - if he carries on, he have ot be close to the Final !!! JUST DONT CHANGE BARTON !
ReplyDeletePrediction:
Arg v England - Marcinaek or Faghani
Final
Efaith or Faghani if Fag doesnt do semi final.
Not saying Efaith deserves it, but rumours of him doing it have been out there for 2-3 years !
+1000000000
DeleteAbsolutely deserved appointment.
ReplyDeleteI think that ARG-ENG will go to Faghani, 3/4 place game and the final will go to Vincic/Mariani/Elfath
I can't imagine an AFC referee getting the Arg-Eng game... both have already refereed England this tournament in KO rounds. It would probably be safer to give the game to a referee who hasn't done either team yet. I am guessing a UEFA referee on that game... might want someone experienced for a game that is for sure to be intense from the start.
ReplyDeleteI think England vs Argentina will be refereed by Vincic. [Maybe] the committee think that Vincic should be appointed to referee a semifinal, but the All-European semifinal is not suitable for him since he already refereed France v Spain Euro 2024 semifinal. That's why Barton was appointed to the All-European game and not Vincic.
ReplyDeleteVinčić is making a career at UEFA solely because he is Slovenian. Given the FIFA vs. UEFA conflict, there is no chance of leveraging personal connections.
DeleteThis is not fair. He may get some additional positive treatment but definitely he is one of the top European referees. A pair of safe hands, can't remember him bing really bad at the important game.
DeleteSweden vs Poland i march Play off and sure Red card for Sweden.
DeleteA great honor for Barton—he has my support! It is clear that Collina recognizes his quality; despite some criticism directed at this referee, he selected him for this important match, choosing him over some big-name officials. I believe his style and natural officiating—including how he communicates with players—are excellent. We have to realize that football is theater and the referee is part of the show; Barton handles this brilliantly, whether people like it or not. I’m rooting for him!
ReplyDeleteI expect Makhadmeh from Jordan in the final.
ReplyDeleteI would be very surprised
DeletePolitical appointment. They had to appoint a CONCACAF referee in the final stages and Ramos and Elfath performed even worse. Understandable to do it in this match, since we will probably see two teams that just want to play football. Let's hope Barton gets his foul detection in place and will leave the camera's to the players this time.
ReplyDeleteThere might be a part of politics but SF clearly deserved on the pitch by Barton
DeleteI would not have said the same for Ramos (even if I believe no KO at all for him is harsh)
Totally deserved appointment for Barton. However, I think the ENG-ARG is more suitable for him
ReplyDeleteCan these comments be deleted? Nobody believes seriously those types of allegations and it's not funny anymore.
DeleteSorry many do . And I know some of you may feel slighted as former referees. But corruption is a known entity and to rubbish off very possible allegations is contrary to freedom expression. We can't call out FIFA's alleged corruption but we are allowed to be racist and disparage referees from other continents ya
DeleteArgentina has 0 VARs against them the entire tournament and obviously the flagrant amount of violations they've gotten away with - so we can't call out institutional bias but we should crucify individual referees? I prefer to blame an institution with known convictions for corruption than to squarely blame every individual referee for incompetence
DeleteWow one can't speak ill of fifa despite their proven corruption charges but racism is okay - good priorities on this blog
Deleteİvan Barton has a unique refereeing style that wouldn't suit just anyone, but it really looks good on him. He embraces the showmanship, and I honestly think it suits him perfectly. The stadium announcement he made during the Turkey vs. Paraguay match went viral, racking up millions of views and making him a TikTok phenomenon. We definitely need more referees like him
ReplyDeleteVery big coongratulation to Ivan Barton,definetley a deserved appoitment,and bright future in front of him. Now,based on appoimtent of France-Argetina should be more clear who will be in the final!
ReplyDeleteAs for Ramos, it now seems clear, that something must have happened. Either health issues or something more unusual.
ReplyDeleteEven if FIFA didn't like his decision to disallow the goal in SCO-BRA, he would at least have been expected as 4th official somewhere.
And it's not even likely, that they disliked it, because VAR Pacheco continued to get games (even the most up to now).
Thr handling of Marcianak very similar to Howard Webb in 2014. Used sparingly, despite arriving as WC final ref, kept to the end but not getting a game (allegedly Holland felt he wouldn't ref their SF objectively after WC Final incident)
ReplyDeleteI would have preferred Makkelie but would take Marcianak or even Vincic. Could end up being the Italian though
Well done to Eskas and Nyberg, great experience for them
Marciniak will give Argentina everything
DeleteHolland accepted Webb in 2014 (after rejecting Vera in the previous round iirc), but Argentina rejected him over the Falklands. I think the story is in Webb's book.
DeleteBarton absolutely deserved his appointment.
ReplyDeleteHope you all see already Barton and Nyberg walking out. Will be a bit funny :-)
I think Faghani will be the main man for the other SF with probably Eskås.
Mahmadeh with Jayed for 3rd place and then the final depanding the two teams.
I also suspect Elfath but in case Argentina out I would expect to see Valenzuela and Sampaio.
I don't think Marciniak will be in the middle in any of the games. Not needed, he alread has the final in his palmares so give the chance to ref the semifinal to someone else. (He should have been appointed already in Q4 or R16)
And that's the result of overusing the French and English refs in these rounds. 6 UEFA assignments were taken by Olivér, Taylor, Turpin and Letexier. I think that's just too much for these two countries especially the amount of choices you had from UEFA.
Kovacs and Makkelie were treated very unfairly in my opinion. Feel a bit sad for them.
Until the end of nominations process, I will(due to Letexier absence :) dream about Makhdammeh in final!
ReplyDeleteYou may wish to clarify his intended role first, before being disappointed if he ultimately appears only as the fourth official. ;-)
DeleteYes,you right, I meant as main referee,becouse he showed that he is strongest when it was needed. But your point made me ready :)))
DeleteWell deserved, but IMHO Barton and his team should have been appointed to the other semifinal instead :)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
It’s such a shame Makkelie got ruled out. I really thought he’d referee another match.
ReplyDeleteHow do we know this
DeleteA huge congratulations to Barton! This is a well-deserved nomination based on his performances in this tournament, not on merit or politics. He deserved to be in the final, but it's clear he's too young and still inexperienced. However, I'm convinced he'll be a favorite in future editions; I can't wait to see him in this clash.
ReplyDeleteWell, it seems Marciniak's adventure at this tournament has come to an end. I hope he doesn't get Argentina again, as it's quite controversial. Then he won't get the final either, simply because he's already refereed it, and others should be given a chance, and I'm writing this as a Pole. In this case, I expect Faghani to play in the second semifinal, Elfath in the final if Argentina wins, or Sampaio if England wins, and Makhadmeh in the third-place match.
DeleteNot surprising to see Pinheiro awarded another week in the US for his services to Infantino, Collina and one competing nation.
ReplyDeleteShhh don't say it later the moral police - Arthur 33 will get your comment deleted. One shall have no criticisms
Delete@arthur33 - is this comment allowed?
DeleteIt’s difficult to understand why referees such as Zwayer and Makkelie are going home, while officials like Elfath, Alireza, Pinheiro and Marciniak remain in the tournament.
ReplyDeleteI’m not suggesting that these aren’t good referees. They have all shown their quality over many years. However, based on what we have seen during this tournament, it is hard to understand some of the decisions.
Elfath struggled physically and needed an OFR to award what many considered an obvious penalty for Brazil. His performance in the Uruguay match also raised questions. Alireza required two OFRs in the Mexico vs England match, one for a clear missed red card and another for a missed penalty. Marciniak came under heavy scrutiny after the incident involving Messi, where many felt a red card should have been shown, yet not even a yellow card was given. Barton had a solid match in Switzerland vs Colombia, but many felt he struggled in Turkey vs Paraguay to control the behaviour of players. Despite that, he has been appointed to a World Cup semi-final. Pinheiro also received considerable criticism after yesterday’s match because of management issues and a wrongly issued yellow card that ultimately led to an OFR.
From the outside, it is difficult to understand how these decisions are being made. Based on the performances at this tournament, I find it hard to believe the appointments are based purely on merit rather than other considerations. That also seems to reflect the opinions expressed by many people in the discussions here.
One boring explanation is, that even purely on merit people have some different opinions and yours can't be the only truth.
DeleteAnd "on merit" could even mean "based on tournament performance" or "based on their abilities shown in their whole career" or something in between with different weighs on the two factors.
There are most likely other factors, but I think for most appointments you can also find a "on merit" explanation.
Dear mike. I agree with everything else you've written, but I strongly disagree with the claim that Barton couldn't control the players in the Turkey vs. Paraguay match. It was the most difficult match of the tournament, and he handled the players very well. Many other referees would definitely not have been able to handle that game.
Delete@Mike. I couldn't agree more with your brief analyzis. Finally someone who could see also mistakes of Elfath and Faghani. Not awarding penalty in BRA - NOR is simply beyond my understanding. Not seeing offence in penalty incident in MEX - ENG is easy to undestand and forgive but RC incident in this match is different cup of tea. Plus decision in FRA - SEN, even after OFR! For me is simply mystery why keeping Marciniak at the tournament so long without any match (only reason for that would be the 2-nd semifinal).
DeleteI am very surprised by predictions which don't see at least one European referee for next 3 matches.
Like everyone else, I agree that Barton should have been assigned to the England vs. Argentina semifinal instead of this one, as it is expected to be more intense and would have suited his style better.
ReplyDeleteAbout SF2, the big point for discussion obviously is Marciniak. Would his many Argentina games (and the Messi incident on MD1) really be a problem for the broader public and more specifically for the English media and national team? I find this question very hard to answer.
ReplyDeleteBut him not getting the game would be weird, because no other game makes sense for him and no game for him in KO stage would be hard to explain. Unless FIFA considers the Messi situation as clear RC. But then he should have been part of the recent cut. And Kwiatkowski got a R32 appointment. So that idea seems unlikely.
If it's not Marciniak, I would see Vincic as the best choice given his tournament performance and experience. I don't see a reasonable counterargument against him (other than Marciniak existing...) - the FIFA vs. Ceferin aspect seems weak to me.
I don't see a good confederationally neutral option here, because Faghani sent off an England player in R16 (and also wasn't good enough IMO), two CONCACAF SF referees seem quite unlikely (and also Elfath wasn't good enough IMO) and the others aren't experienced enough.
And CONMEBOL: Yes, maybe, if both teams are fine with it - I can't anticipate that.
So in short:
I would like:
Vincic - Elfath - Dankert, Higler, Kwiatkowski
I expect:
Marciniak - Elfath - Kwiatkowski, Gallo, Gonzalez
(Obviously you can argue for nearly everyone on the 4th official spot.)
Coudn't agree more.
DeleteIf Marciniak was choosed, then why on Earth would you sent him to ENG-ARG, breaking the confederation rule and him repeating Argentina once again? The swap with Barton would have made a lot of sense. With Vincic at least you can argue against the swap because he had the FRA-ESP semifinal at Euro 2024.
ReplyDeleteA short comment about the UEFA names that are reported to have left the tournament, I think wer can draw some conclusions and something about some of them was already clear.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, among them, it could have been possible to expect another game, given his path, for Makkelie. The Dutch referee could have easily officiated either a quarterfinal or a semifinal, before going home.
To follow, what was already clear was a very low reputation for Kovacs, and he didn't even get fourth official assignments after the second game as main referee (correct me if I'm wrong),
So this story about the WC 1000 game was just to give a small reward to him, but very small.. Collina said it was a case, but well, after his treatment one can have doubts. Yes, the OFR in second game, but it's clear he is a referee definitely not liked by Collina and Busacca. Really sorry.
Then, into Zwayer: he could have got more as well, but here I find an argument that probably has convinced Collina to "lose" the trust.
It can happen, but a refere with cramps at WC was a scene that one can nver remember. Collina, who is a maniac (positive sense, of course) about physical condition, should have reacted very bad about that. How much Zwayer fault? Of course not his fault, but once again we can say he was unluckyu to have this incident exactly in that game. To follow, he was given a second chance, but it wasn't linear with the OFR. So, in the end they found an argument to send him home. Sad because with Germany eliminated so early, he could have got more. For me, it's a mix between not having full trust after first game incident, and then a rather shaky second appearance, but basically they hadn't a strong plan on him, that's clear.
About all the other European referees, both those who are still there and the others sent home, we can understand in a way or another their path.
But it's now interesting to say more about Marciniak...
At this point, he shouldn't get another game, so why to keep him?
Impossible to get a second final, very hard to see him once again with Argentina after so many assignments in three WC editions, and, before that, the controversy in group stage.
So the tournament seems over for him, but of course Collina keeps him without sending home.
In this regard, it seems to me that some referees get the compromise of remaining until the end even if Collina and Busacca already know they will not get any game.
Maybe, the same for Mariani... I continue in another comment
For Mariani it's very hard to get another game, given how he was managed to become a referee for 2026 WC. At this point it would be unfair if compared to those who missed the chance, and more generally, I'm sure he has been kept jjsut because Italian with a chance to officiate maybe the third place game or to appear as fourth official in England - Argentina.
DeleteThe rest of UEFA referees who have been kept, shouldn't have chances for another assignment, if not the third place game, that in my opinion would be just a small consolation.
So now trying to guess about the referee for England - Argentina, we have strong clues that Faghani could officiate it: it would be like a final, and given that the final is not possible for him because he handled it one year ago, then we have a solution here, that also respects confederations criterion.
So my prediction for ENG - ARG is Faghani as very last game of his WC career, with maybe Mariani as fourth official.
This would leave unfortunately Elfath for the final, the saddest scenario, in my opinion... but something that one could have expected. But if not Argentina, chances for the two CONMEBOL referees, personally I believe Sampaio is just a pushed name, would be refreshing to see the referee from Venezuela, but very hard.
DeleteThat's my analysis, then third place game, as said, not important, all can get it.
So, Chefren, don't you think it would have been more appropriate to appoint Barton for the England vs. Argentina match
DeleteA referee can be branded for life after this game.
DeleteExtremely dangerous. I understand why Collina decided for the European top clash for him.
Therefore, also for this reason, Faghani best option for the other semifinal.
Unless, they want to send Elfath, but absolutely not suitable referee for that game.