Appointments of match officials at 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage.
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Match #49
Group C
25 June 2026, 00:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
SCOTLAND - BRAZIL
Referee: César Ramos MEX
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Morin MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Bisguerra MEX
Fourth Official: Espen Eskas NOR
Reserve AR: Jan Erik Engan NOR
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Match #50
Group C
25 June 2026, 00:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
MOROCCO - HAITI
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED
Fourth Official: Joao Pinheiro POR
Reserve AR: Bruno Jesus POR
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Match #51
Group B
24 June 2026, 21:00 CET
BC Place, Vancouver
SWITZERLAND - CANADA
Referee: Ramon Abatti BRA
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Alves BRA
Fourth Official: Kevin Ortega PER
Reserve AR: Michael Orue PER
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Match #52
Group B
24 June 2026, 21:00 CET
Lumen Field, Seattle
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - QATAR
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela VEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Yusuke Araki JPN
Reserve AR: Jun Mihara JPN
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Match #53
Group A
25 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
CZECH REPUBLIC - MEXICO
Referee: Yael Falcon Perez ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez ARG
Fourth Official: Cristian Garay CHI
Reserve AR: José Retamal CHI
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Match #54
Group A
25 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTH KOREA
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG
Fourth Official: Andrés Rojas COL
Reserve AR: Alexander Guzman COL
Video Assistant Referee:
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 :
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :
Big charge that Morocco will face the Netherlands in the next round
ReplyDeleteCharge = Chance
DeleteSo I guess this means Pinheiro, Garay and Eskas won't appear again.
ReplyDeleteDoes it mean that being appointed as a fourth official basically rules Pinheiro and Eskas out of getting another game as referee?
ReplyDeleteHard to say. It seems very unlikely that they get another game on MD3, but a R32 could still be possible.
DeleteEspecially for Eskas it would be quite harsh to limit him to one game before he even did that. Also Garay and Pinheiro weren't that bad.
The question really is, whether FIFA wants to give two games to most referees or rather focus on their top 20-25 in the KO stage.
The match is in Miami!
DeleteIf Eskås' appointment as fourth official means he won't have another match before even finishing the first, it confirms that meritocracy simply doesn't exist at FIFA.
ReplyDeleteMeritocracy means not only merits in the tournament. It also means merits before the tournament.
Delete:)
DeleteHard to believe that fourth officials have ended as main referees, it's impossible if we look at Pinheiro, that is expected to geat at least another game.
ReplyDeleteNot a good sign for Makkelie to be appointed in a not very important game. Haiti has no chance to qualify for the next round, while Morocco is for sure qualified even if they finished the group stage on the third place
ReplyDeleteThis ! Quite surprised especially when insiders have been saying he has been ' promised the final '
DeleteI’ve not heard any insider stating Makkelie is promised the final, something FIFA obviously would not (never) do. Only the blog’s troll of cynism said so.
DeleteApart from that, if it would be true, exactly for the reason of less importance/spotlights a convenient (second) game for a prospective final referee ;)
Surprising to have no UEFA referee on RSA-KOR with not so many available games for UEFA referees on MD3 (if confed neutrality holds). And Tello could have been useful e.g. in JAP-SWE.
ReplyDeleteWell, congrats all officiating teams on appoitments, about Makkelie, trust me guys,every game matters, and games that are predicted as easiest one, are always hardest for officiating,so the good test for Makkelie!
ReplyDeleteWhat an honor, Cesar Ramos will referee Scotland.
ReplyDeleteGenuine or sarcastic? :)
DeleteKatia Garcia is missing from appointments since her game on Friday.
ReplyDeleteSo either there are health problems or she is prepared for a game in the middle.
I also miss Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh in matches 42 - 54. I know I'm being really persistent about this topic, but I still think that with over 100 matches (including actually meaningless ones on the last group matchday), at least one (= less than 1%) should be given to the OFC.
DeleteI’m wondering why the committee wants to take a risk with appointing a ref whose home country can be a potential opponent of one of the teams he is refereeing.
ReplyDeleteFor all the referees we know that they are not influenced by this fact. But the rest of the soccer family isn’t.
In this case it is Makkelie, but it could be somebody else. Are there no other options for this match? Anybody who has a clue why committee would appoint like this?
In general, because there are too many potential opponents right now and it would limit appointing options too much.
DeleteIn the specific case of Makkelie it could have indeed been avoided, because the first two teams of groups C and F play each other.
Thanks Philipp. Could you imagine a protest from a nation in cases like this, so when the appointment already is public, and then a change by FIFA committee? I can only imagine it before the appointment is made public.
DeleteOr is there a difference between UEFA and FIFA. When reading this blog I get the idea that clubs can refuse a referee within CL, EL or ECL. Or am I wrong.
I expect Scotland-Brazil to be a bloodbath. At least 2 red cards and an our lady of Guadeloupe card.
ReplyDeleteI expect four yellow cards at minutes 1, 8, 27 and 64 — perfect cubes. No miracles required.
DeleteIdiotic, stupid comments—incomprehensible; please delete.
DeleteReally sad, senseless and unnecessary comment. Please do not stoop to such a low level, this is really bad and awful. It's sad to see such things written...
DeleteIt's math, guys. Simple math and logistics.
ReplyDeleteThere are 16 games over 4 days on MD3. Plus R32 starts right after. You're flying all round a continent. You cannot serve the 16 games by only using the reserves.
No, Garcia and Kawana-Waugh are not suddenly going to be given whistles on MD3 when literally every match (save US-Turkiye) will have some meaning.
There are also 16 R32 matches and then the normal 8 R16 matches. You might need 24 referees for that alone.
It seems that too many of you are thinking like this is a 32-team tournament. It's not. Eskas, presuming he performs well in his match, will get at least a R32 game. Note Eskas is getting the "home" Miami match and doesn't have to travel anywhere. There will be similar situations. Maybe Garay is being punished for his match, but that won't be the norm.
OK, but the math can also be different.
DeleteWe currently have 10 pure support referees. If they work every second day (which is possible with sensible choice of venues), they can cover 20/24 games on MD3. So you need 4 games covered by the main referees, of which two logically are the Miami ones. Of course, you can choose anyone for those games, who is not planned for a game in the days around. But wouldn't it be most logical to assign those referees, who are currently planned for one game only (if they exist)?
41 referees with a first GS game -> 31 of the 41 with a second GS game -> 24 of the 31 with a R32/R16 game is also mathematically plausible, I think. It would mean "eliminating" approx. a quarter at each step.
In 2022, we had 7 out of 29 referees with only one game. Why shouldn't it be 11 out of 41 in 2026?
* 10 out of 41
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSource ?
DeleteFully expected predetermined and protected path for Makkelie.
ReplyDelete