Referees in charge of 2026 FIFA World Cup UEFA Play-Offs Finals, game to be played on Tuesday 31 March 2026.
UEFA Playoffs for WC 2026, Finals
Tuesday 31 March 2026
Path A Final
20:45 CET - Zenica (Stadion Bilino Polje)
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - ITALY
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA
Fourth Official: José María Sánchez Martínez ESP
FIFA Referee Assessor: Martin Ingvarsson SWE
Path B Final
20:45 CET - Solna (Strawberry Arena)
SWEDEN - POLAND
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenović SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
FIFA Referee Assessor: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
FIFA Match Commissioner: Peter Oskam NED
20:45 CET - Solna (Strawberry Arena)
SWEDEN - POLAND
Referee: Slavko Vinčić SVN
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaž Klančnik SVN
Assistant Referee 2: Andraž Kovačič SVN
Fourth Official: Rade Obrenović SVN
Video Assistant Referee: Christian Dingert GER
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Robert Schröder GER
FIFA Referee Assessor: Matteo Simone Trefoloni ITA
FIFA Match Commissioner: Peter Oskam NED
Path C Final
20:45 CET - Pristina (Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri)
KOSOVO - TÜRKIYE
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
FIFA Referee Assessor: Herbert Fandel GER
FIFA Match Commissioner: Filip Popovski MKD
20:45 CET - Pristina (Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri)
KOSOVO - TÜRKIYE
Referee: Michael Oliver ENG
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt ENG
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring ENG
Fourth Official: Christopher Kavanagh ENG
Video Assistant Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande ESP
FIFA Referee Assessor: Herbert Fandel GER
FIFA Match Commissioner: Filip Popovski MKD
Path D Final
20:45 CET - Prague (Epet Arena)
CZECH REPUBLIC - DENMARK
Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2:Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Marco Guida ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
FIFA Referee Assessor: Stavros Tritsonis GRE Stefan Johannesson SWE
20:45 CET - Prague (Epet Arena)
CZECH REPUBLIC - DENMARK
Referee: Maurizio Mariani ITA
Assistant Referee 1: Daniele Bindoni ITA
Assistant Referee 2:Alberto Tegoni ITA
Fourth Official: Marco Guida ITA
Video Assistant Referee: Marco Di Bello ITA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Aleandro Di Paolo ITA
FIFA Referee Assessor:
Official source for Oliver: https://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=202&ftxtID=50079
ReplyDeleteMr chefren how do you see the chances for 17 European referee who compete for the world before the is made the final selection
DeleteAnd the others may be
ReplyDeleteItaly vs bosnia : turpin
Czech vs denmark : sanchez
Poland vs sweden: mariani
So vincic, two Spanish and schärer may have no match
I do not think that Maurizio Mariani (ITA) will officiate the match Sweden - Poland with observer Matteo Simone Trefoloni (ITA).
DeleteYes made viceverse
DeletePoland vs sweden sanchez
Czech vs denmark: mariani
I am interested in the choice of Kavanagh as fourth official. Appreciate it follows the trend from the semi-finals with the new elites and he is from the same country as Oliver, and everyone has to gain experience from somewhere, but might we have expected a bigger name/personality for what could be a heated final?
ReplyDeleteUnderstandable point of view, but the choice is explained by the fact that Kavanagh is Oliver's countryman and he is Elite referee, at least this last factor should be enough to ensure a certain experience in the role, otherwise committee should have appointed all the big Elite as fourth officials as well, maybe too much...
DeleteThe only game who had the treatment you are talking about is Italy - Northern Ireland so far, and we know why, with Gil Manzano fourth official. Verry curious about Turpin's fourth official in Bosnia: maybe even Letexier... but I think rather Bastien.
DeleteLetexier in the seminar
DeleteCould even have been Taylor in Pristina, if they had wanted a big name in that role.
DeleteFor Turpin, I could also imagine Schärer as 4th, if he doesn't get a game himself.
Mariani in the game without Trefoloni and maybe Vincic with Trefoloni? It's hard to believe they leave the Slovenian out.
ReplyDeleteSo in that case the Spanish "affair" would be clear: no assignments at all for Sanchez, and Hernandez called exactly for that... we'll know tomorrow.
If you answer my question it is good
DeleteStill possible, that Hernandez or Schärer get a game instead of Mariani (out for protection reasons?), maybe to prove themselves for a WC spot.
DeleteI was talking the chances for the seventeen European referees that compete to become for the final list
DeleteDon't doubt your predictions Philipp! :D
DeleteMikael probably knows more… :)
DeleteMy guess is Schärer.
Does anyone understand what’s going on in Spain and the Hdz addition? Has Sánchez Martínez been rejected after a specific game? Just wondering.
Maybe I’m overthinking it and it’s “just” Vincic with Trefoloni, but that feels odd if FIFA is wrapping up the lineup. You’d expect a more doubtful name, e.g. Schärer with a push from Busacca. Vincic with Tritsonis also seems unlikely after Chelsea–PSG. Isn’t Vincic being protected too much? He’s fit - I mean the socials show he ran the fitness test - yet hardly any domestic games. And internationally he keeps getting the “safe” do-or-die matches, while others take the real heat. In your final season, isn’t there the need to make a case if you want to go deep at the World Cup? Just look at Turpin’s games. Or Taylor at 47.
*Safe* appointments in National Team competitions, especially in the final qualification rounds (Vincic)
Delete@Mikael: Alright, they are obviously the only arrangement, that makes any sense ;)
DeleteI don't think, Vincic is protected at all at the moment. SWE-POL is a massively important game with the risk of things going wrong. And he did major second leg games in the last two CL rounds (+ the important PSG game on MD8).
@Philipp: he is, in the Nations football environment, not CLUB football.
DeleteFrance - Ukraine in what is an expected French win at home.
Netherlands - Finland: easy Dutch win
Israel - Italy more sensitive but early in the quali
In 2023 he got Ukraine vs Macedonia in the final round, away from the spotlight again.
EURO 2024: hidden game MD1, big game MD2, again no appointment in the final qualification round to keep him safe. There is some sort of strategy ungoing to keep him clean.
Oliver managed the Türkiye-Spain match in the group stage and Spain won 6 - 0. Of course, that match is not a criterion
ReplyDeleteSo, why mention that match?
DeleteFor nothing i Just wanna write a comment :D
Deleteits official
ReplyDeletesweden - poland = Vincic
Dear Chefren, I believe there is a solid group of 13 UEFA referees for World Cup: those who were in charge of play-offs semis and finals, plus Marciniak (if fitted).
ReplyDeleteDo you agree?
Greetings from Johannesburg.
I agree, in the end what we can say after having read all the assignments, and it wasn't hard to guess, is that the doubts are about names like Schaerer (but for unlucky reasons for the Swiss), Sanchez Martinez (not convincing the committee and so they called Hernandez Hernandez, but then what to do?) and Peljto but we already knew about him.
DeleteSo the WC UEFA referees could be: Mariani, Oliver, Turpin, Vincic, Taylor, Makkelie, Kovacs, Letexier, Nyberg, Eskas, Pinheiro, Zwayer and Marciniak if available.
Yes, sounds plausible. Collina/Busacca didn’t call up a Spanish ref for the CWC last year either, and with that last-minute call-up for Hernandez, I’m afraid they lose their credibility. One of the 13 names will probably have to serve as a support official. Pinheiro fits that role best, unless they’re allowed to add a 14th name (e.g. Scharer).
DeletePinheiro will be selected for the final list referee of the world that time I don't know what are you !!!
DeleteProbably, Pinheiro will be selected however FIFA does not always communicate who will be the support official(s). In 2022 in Qatar it was Kovacs, the least experienced official. So, Pinheiro as a support official isn’t a crazy thought at all.
DeleteWhich of these four referees would not have been called upon had Szymon Marciniak been fit? In theory, most probably Maurizio Mariani. But then he would likely have officiated a semi-final. Who would have taken his place in that case?
ReplyDeleteMaybe a UEFA referee in an intercontinental play off in that case, don't forget this option.
DeleteYes, that's what I also speculated yesterday under the relevant post: Ivan Barton seems like a short-term appointment, since a CONCACAF team could also have advanced to "his" final.
DeleteThe seminar groups tell us, that Mariani initially was planned for a SF and Nyberg for something in the next week. Whether he was only planned as 4th official in one of the UEFA finals or for the interconfed games remains unclear.
DeleteAdmittedly, I was wrong. Strange to see an experienced name like Vincic at this stage with a FIFA observer. Again on paper it’s a relatively “safe” match for him, with fair playing countries, but I think he had few other options with all the Balkan countries involved. The most challenging games are for Oliver and Turpin.
ReplyDeleteI agree that pljeto , schärer, sanchez, hernandez must be out in world according their poor performance
ReplyDeleteI agree that "pljeto" must be out because there is no referee with this name.
DeleteWe have the change of observer in Czech Republic.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to go too far away and I clarify it's just a speculation.
If the Greek, then removed (we can't know why, maybe he is not available, but...), was the original observr assigned for that game by a long time, even before Marciniak's injury, then we could maybe say that very likely the Polish was the referee planned for this one (in the first release of the groups for the seminar, when he was still in Group 1). Then, there was this change, with him out and maybe Mariani replaced him as referee in Prague? Possible that Mariani, instead, had an intercontinental play off? This would be a very reasonable option, with Barton then coming from a close country and, as reported by somebody above, being rather a "secondary" choice (but not in negative meaning, of course). This would be a possible read of the situation, however we can't say. What I can argue is that Tritsonis observes only very experienced Elite, when committee has nothing to check, while for Mariani, with Johannesson observer, maybe indeed they wanted to assign a more suitable observer for the referee involved?
But again, I think I'm going too far...
"These appointments have shown us once again... Vincic won't be assigned to matches involving Balkan countries as long as he holds a Slovenian passport
ReplyDeleteIt is not because Slovenian passport. Vincic is 100 % fluent in bosnian/croatian as his parents are from there. Would not be fair if he is assigned for game involving these countries.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was Serbia and Greece, because he hasn't been appointed to any of their national or club team matches so far
DeleteThese languages are very similar, almost every Slovenian is fluent in Croatian/Bosnian, parents have no crucial role.
DeleteAll in all, there was not surprise in the appointments,Turpin with Italy Oliver with Turkey Vincic in Sweden these 3 deserved a play off final by all means and for Mariani, IMO he exceed expectations with a superb performance in RMA MCI first leg, no one talked about him regarding Media, the pundits. With a clean night out for the Italian something big was coming his way. Even so the Refcom opted for him instead of the other referees for a final. He think is one of the referees we should keep a close eye on.
ReplyDeleteIt’s pretty safe to assume that Turpin, before Marciniak’s injury, wasn’t originally in line for the Path A final. He’d just had that bonkers game (MCI–RMA) in the R16, and that’s just not how Rosetti usually operates. Look at Makkelie, who stayed under the radar with Arsenal vs Leverkusen before getting the Italy appointment. That’s much more in line with the usual pattern. My take is that Marciniak would have handled Liverpool vs Galatasaray, which on paper looks like a fairly comfortable win for the English side, and then followed that up with the Path A final involving Italy.
ReplyDeleteMariani then steps in and takes over Turpin’s game in Prague. Nyberg was in Group 1 at the seminar, which suggests he was lined up for the intercontinental play-off final. In my opinion, Nyberg’s reputation is too good to be “just” a fourth official in a final. And let’s be honest, FIFA clearly loves Nyberg. No UEFA referee has had as much FIFA monitoring as he has. An intercontinental final makes sense.
So a logical chain of events is that Nyberg gets flown in to take the semi-final Mariani had, Czechia vs Ireland. What doesn’t add up for me is why you’d pull Nyberg from the intercontinental play-off in the first place when you could slot in a Spanish or Schärer. Was the World Cup book already closed on those names? Was the selection basically done, and would giving them a play-off match only reopen the whole debate? Maybe. And why is Mariani more “trusted” for a final than Nyberg? For me, there’s barely anything between them.
UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin arrives in BiH for the BIH-ITA match
ReplyDeleteApparently no GLT for BIH-ITA, if true it’s insane for a game like this, hope everything will be fine.
ReplyDeleteNo GLT in Bosnia - Italy, due to the stadium that can't have the technology on the line. All in case will be decided by VAR, we have already big discussion in Italy about that.
ReplyDeleteWhen we say "games that can destroy a referee", it's in my opinion hard to find something more than this one. For sure we can only say good luck to Turpin. I don't know if situation is similar in Kosovo for Oliver, and maybe in another Bosnian venue it was possible?
For the importance and the outcome of the game, it's impossible to accept in modern football in my opinion.
Agree, but tbf if there is an incident tonight we will more talk about the organisation FIFA or UEFA than Turpin imo, even if everyone was on Makkelie for a no GLT incident, so just hope everything will be ok.
DeleteYes, this shouldn’t be happening in 2026. Makes me wonder if Marciniak is actually gutted he’s not on this one… probably not. And the pitch? Absolute potato field :)
DeleteAs a neutral: may the best team win. Though Italy at a World Cup always brings chaos and I’m curious how Collina would spin the appointments.
And sure, good luck to Turpin. He’s one of the few who might get out of this without a scratch.
Not only bosnia vs italy also it was not for games Ukraine vs sweden, Denmark vs north Macedonia
DeleteAbdalaziz, right, I was informed about that, but you know, when Italy is involved, more focus on refereeing, based on that you can understand why Rosetti acts in a certain way with assignments involving Italian teams and clubs.
DeleteAnd if someone know what means emergency var installation for BIH-ITA, i will be curious to know what is it
DeleteOK but Mr chefren there was a question that I ask in Sunday and you don't until are you believe that the chances for pljeto schärer and hernandez, sanchez to go world world is ended
ReplyDeleteYou don't answer until now
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think I already expressed my opinion in a general way, maybe not replying directly to this specific question to you, but I had written about it. The situation seems quite clear to me: the Swiss and the Bosnian won't go to the World Cup, whereas the doubt is about Spain with two preselected referees. They called up a second candidate because they were not convinced about the first one, who hasn't got any big assignment in this international window. Personally, I wonder what the doubts could be. I had pointed out how, after the match in Bergamo, he came out looking quite bad due to the incident that wasn't spotted at the end. But I can also think that perhaps he is not particularly appreciated for the way he deals with players, with that seemingly always slightly aggressive attitude that maybe someone within the FIFA committee doesn’t like (just my opinion).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to get back to the main point, I think it's hard to say that no Spanish referee will go to the World Cup, at least one surely will, if not two. In my opinion, they might be mixing things up a bit without revealing who the reserve could be, so they can potentially use both of them, or perhaps just one as a reserve, I'm not sure. We will have to wait and see. What is certain is that this is the biggest doubt among the UEFA referees. If Collina wants to keep his cards hidden even after the official announcement of the selected referees, they won't declare who among them will be the reserve just publishing full list… we’ll see.
Thank you,how many referees do you think uefa will have this world cup that is questions the other question is , it is possible that uefa have reserve notice that uefa have the most referees in a continent
DeleteYes, it's possible that UEFA will have a reserve referee, despite of having the highest number of selected officials at WC.
DeleteAnd I don't know about the number, honestly I really don't care about that, I'm only interested in the names.
What I really don't like: wrong defensive FK for not punishable handball of Polish attacker instead of penalty and YC for reckless challenge... VAR supports but the decision, although common, is against the LotG (14').
ReplyDeleteMichael Oliver has made an excellent no-penalty decision in the 18th minute.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, he shouldn't have given the penalty; the incident was outside the penalty area, but he also failed to see a very clear and obvious foul.
DeleteNot a faul
Delete33’ poses an interesting penalty-kick question for Oliver. There is apparently wry little contact as the attacker hurdled the challenge by the defender, but if the attacker had simply kept running normally and let the defender hit him, it probably would have been a foul.
ReplyDeleteClear red card by Turpin.
ReplyDeleteBig decision by Turpin with a RC for DOGSO.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, immediately shown, not afraid.
This is what makes an Elite referee.
Turpin shows once again why he gets these big games, he shows no fear.
DeleteYes, concerning this decision. But for Turpin not his best first half imo. Technically not always consistent in his evaluations, and with several problems in finding dynamically a correct positioning.
DeleteI am not sure which evaluations you didn’t see as consistent.. I thought his first half was globally good
Deleteperfect detection by Turpin clear DOGSO
ReplyDeleteSWEPOL
ReplyDelete43' Controversial FK to Sweden (although AR1 who was very close signalled a throw-in for Poland) leading to Sweden's second goal.
Great immediate reaction by Turpin.
ReplyDeleteCorrect call in what was a really easy half
True yellow card for turkey number 7
ReplyDeleteNow Di Marco blatantly kicking the ball away,just ignored.
ReplyDelete