Appointments of match officials at 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Semifinals.
Tuesday 8 July 2025, 21:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Fluminense (BRA) - Chelsea (ENG)
Referee: François Letexier FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Cyril Mugnier FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Mehdi Rahmouni FRA
Fourth Official: Ivan Barton SLV
Fifth Official: David Moran SLV
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
Wednesday 9 July 2025, 21:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Paris Saint Germain (FRA) - Real Madrid (ESP)
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL
Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal ALG
Fifth Official: Mokrane Gourari ALG
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee:
I concur with the comments on the previous post, the management of referee assignments at this tournament has been strange, Zwayer and Turpin as perfect examples. Zwayer with two easy group stage games featuring the Japanese team, he was never really tested. And same with Turpin, an easy and very low-profile first game (Mamelodi Sundowns vs Ulsan HD), and a second group stage game in which both teams were already advanced (Juve-City). For neither to wind up with a knockout stage game, nor Beida who performed well enough to deserve that chance, is really bad... Instead Letexier and Marciniak each get two knockout stage games after being left to wait until MD3 for their only group stage appointment.
ReplyDeleteThen you have someone like Issa Sy who only had an easily-foreseeable 10-0 blowout, why even bring him to the tournament if that was going to be all for him?
They abided by a strict principle of confederation neutrality for the whole group stage, causing the aforementioned problems with UEFA referees' appointments and severely limiting the chance for CONMEBOL referees to work difficult/important clashes, despite it being ok to abandon the principle for important knockout stage matches (Bayern-Flamengo, Fluminense-Chelsea, and maybe even the final, we'll see).
With those assignments, we will potentially have a CONMEBOL referee in the final (CAF and CONCACAF already represented as 4th officials). Perhaps Sampaio if Fluminense does not get through. Tello, however, would be the safest guess. In addition, we cannot rule out Faghani (which already got the opening match), with CONMEBOL as 4th official.
ReplyDeleteFrom the semi-final appointments, it seems clear that the paths for Szymon Marciniak and François Letexier were predetermined before this CWC even began. Both were assigned a MD3 group fixture, followed by a Round of 16 and then a semi-final, suggesting that, as long as they avoided major mistakes in their early matches, they would be guaranteed a place in the knockout phase, and then semi-final, regardless of the teams involved.
ReplyDeleteWith both semi-finals handled by UEFA refs, it is now highly unlikely that another UEFA ref will take charge of the final. This rules out Michael Oliver, who has to avoid Chelsea. That leaves three realistic contenders for the final: Alireza Faghani, Wilton Sampaio, and Facundo Tello. Of these, Sampaio and Tello would only be viable if Fluminense are eliminated by Chelsea. Faghani, on the other hand, stands out as the most probable candidate.
FIFA has consistently shown strong trust in Faghani’s abilities, as evidenced by 2015 CWC final, 2016 Olympic final and his deep runs in both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Were it not for the wrong handball penalty in the group stage, he likely would have gone further in Qatar. This CWC has been another demonstration of FIFA’s faith in him, appointing him to the opening match, which is a clear signal of confidence. His performance across three matches has been solid, arguably the most consistent among the referees. Should he be selected for the final, his tournament would follow the textbook path for a final appointment: opening match, a second group stage game, quarter-final, and final. It would be both a reward for his steady performances here and a form of closure after the disappointment of 2022, particularly given that he’s now 47 years old, potentially his last major FIFA tournament.
Much like the 2022 WC, it appears that refs’ fates were largely sealed before the first whistle. Among UEFA, Marciniak and Letexier were clearly earmarked for late-stage matches, while someone like Clément Turpin was sacrificed despite a decent showing. Felix Zwayer, Glenn Nyberg and Espen Eskås were clearly only intended for group stage. The only real outlier was István Kovács, who would likely have gone deeper if not for a poor showing in his first match, which ultimately sent him home early.
For CONMEBOL, it seems four refs were marked for potential knockout duty: Tello, Sampaio, Abatti, and Valenzuela. Interestingly, FIFA appears to be heavily investing in Abatti, who has little experience at the top level in CONMEBOL fixtures (even only 3 matches in the Copa Libertadores), but was totally trusted by FIFA, has been appointed to the Olympic final after just one group match, and now trusted again for the CWC quarter-final. Others like Falcon, Garay, and Benitez never really stood a chance of advancing beyond the group stage.
CONCACAF likely had two initial knockout candidates in Ivan Barton and César Ramos, but Ramos’ performances in the group stage were extremely poor. It would be almost unthinkable for him to be appointed to the final after two underwhelming displays.
AFC, meanwhile, probably had only one true knockout-stage candidate - Faghani. As long as he stayed mistake-free, he was always going to move forward. Ilgiz Tantashev was sacrificed with a very challenging 2nd group match, and Falahi was never a knockout candidate.
The least favored confederation, once again, appears to be CAF. Just like the 2022 WC, no African referee has made it to the knockout stage here, despite both Mustapha Ghorbal and Beida performing well in the group phase. As for Issa Sy, it's already decided that he could only have the easiest match (Bayern 10:0 Auckland City), and nothing after that.
For me it is really disappointing about the African referees, not for them, but for Collina. Why are you calling them then? Just to "fill" simple games? Because, let's be honest, no game officiated by an African was difficult. Dahane deserved, at least, a round of 16 game.
ReplyDeleteAs for Issa Sy, in my opinion, unless there is an injury there is NO excuse for not having assigned him to another game, it's okay not as a referee, but if you assigned Kovacs as fourth after the disaster he made, Sy would have had other games in that role without problems…But well, he will be able to tell his grandchildren that he officiated Bayern Munich ;)
And for the final, if Fluminense doesn't do it, I bet what you want that will be Sampaio…Seneme is not going to miss the opportunity to give another final to a compatriot ;). And add Abatti as fourth…Meanwhile, Faghani is praying that Fluminense wins ;)
DeleteI understand the frustration, but I think there’s a bigger picture to consider.
DeleteThe last thing the FIFA Referees Committee, under Collina, wants is to put CAF referees in a situation where one mistake in a high-pressure match could lead to harsh criticism, not just of the referee, but of the entire confederation.
Let’s be honest, UEFA and CONMEBOL referees are constantly exposed to top level, high-intensity games every week. CAF referees don’t get the same kind of experience regularly, so when they’re thrown into the spotlight at the highest level, they become easy targets if anything goes wrong.
That’s why FIFA often assigns them to matches with less pressure not because they’re not capable, but to avoid unnecessary backlash that could hurt perception of African officiating as a whole.
It’s the same strategy we’ve seen with female referees in men’s tournaments such as Tori Penso. Giving them the right opportunities while also protecting them from being unfairly criticized is a delicate balance.
So in a way, yes, it's frustrating, but it's also about protecting the reputations and making sure progress isn't undone by one bad moment on the world stage.
Perfect analysis, Ref
DeleteCan we take a moment to appreciate how fast François Letexier has risen?
ReplyDeleteJust three years ago, he wasn’t even on the list of referees for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Now, he's been trusted with a European final and a FIFA major tournament semifinal. That kind of progress in such a short time is remarkable.
Some might say he’s been lucky but is he? especially when you compare him to someone like Clément Turpin, who’s been around longer but doesn’t seem to be favored by the committee in the same way.
Letexier’s rise has a lot to do with how he handles games: calm, confident, and with strong match control. His refereeing style is modern, and it’s clear that he and his crew work well together. In fact, he often has the same familiar faces in the VAR room, which builds trust and consistency in decision-making.
This appointment really highlights how much confidence FIFA has in him, possibly even more than in Turpin, who was once seen as France top referee. Letexier is showing that he’s now leading that conversation.
Fully agreed.
DeleteIt’s so true that The IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) on awarding the "World's Best Referee" annually, named François Letexier like the 2024 winner.
And he received a 2nd award as “Best referente in the world” 2024 with Giulio Campanati Award, in Milan/Italy. It’s a famous and prestigious award gave every two years by a jury composed of international journalists, former referees and sports manager, which chooses the winner on his commitment to refereeing and the quality of his directions basis.
DeleteRelevant/significant appointment for Letexier also considering PSG is among the 4 SFsts.
DeleteCompletely disrespect tournament towards Felix (and others referee as well), completely mess. That's the word Disrespect.
ReplyDeleteDesrespect … why? Honestly I didn’t do find anything justifying your opinion. Nothing.
DeleteFIFA Committee and Collina ad well make their evaluations and decisions on technical perspectives basis with geopolitical themes to be alao considered. And I seem them without derespect for anyone. Maybe you don’t like any decision: correctly you must have your different opinion as legitimate as the FIFA Committee one.
That’s all.
That has nothing to do with “disrespect.” It’s Zwayer’s first tournament under the FIFA radar. In such cases, it often ends at the group stage. Just wait and see — I think we will see Zwayer again at the U-21 or the Arab Cup.
DeleteI already suspected it when Zwayer’s second match was one in Los Angeles: that’s it for him. They gave Zwayer a nice “closing” assignment.
It is notable, however, that someone like Nyberg continued to appear regularly as fourth official, while Zwayer did not.
You’re absolutely right.
DeleteAnyway Zwayer 44 y/o, Nyberg 36 y/o… maybe the reason would be that: Zw with his feet in the past, Ny in the future
Well, technically, it's not Zwayer's first tournament under the FIFA radar, he's been to the 2015 U20 WC and even officiated a QF... ;-)
Delete