Tuesday, 7 July 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup Match 96: Switzerland - Colombia (discussion)

Ivan Barton, the referee from El Salvador, will officiate his third game at WC, Switzerland - Colombia in the Round of 16.


Match #96
Round of 16
7 July 2026, 22:00 CET
BC Place, Vancouver
SWITZERLAND - COLOMBIA 
Referee: Ivan Barton SLV 
Assistant Referee 1: David Moran SLV
Assistant Referee 2: Antonio Pupiro NCA 
Fourth Official:  Katia Garcia MEX
Reserve AR: Sandra Ramirez MEX 
Video Assistant Referee: Guillermo Pacheco MEX
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Armando Villarreal USA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 : Ivan Bebek CRO

121 comments:

  1. Eagerly awaiting the expected deluge of comments that are always levied against non-UEFA Referees and the mental gymnastics associated with them.

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    1. It is Ivan Barton from El Salvador which is from CONCACAF who is the referee. Letexier isn't the referee in all the matches.

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    2. The French is not non-Uefa

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    3. Let’s call it as it is - that is equally racist comment to those unfairly criticising non-UEFA refs. Stop being bias and focus on constrictive discussion.

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  2. So far keeping it low key with god pro-active refereeing. C7 being a handful and perhaps needs to be taken down a few pegs

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  3. That image of Infantino. The look on his face. He looks embattled. worn down, and troubled.
    As the Spanish language saying goes, "dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres"
    Which translates to "tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are".

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  4. An excellent first "quarter" from Barton in a mainly football focussed game so far. Incredibly proactive and dynamic (I can not believe how well he covers the ground and is so proactive to any potential flashpoints), strong and soft body language and just has a natural air of confidence that comes across so well. Keep up the good work Barton.

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    1. Agree. Pute Barton made in an easy first « quarter ». I m a fan.

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    2. If it continues like this, I see him in the final or the third-place match.

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    3. İ don't think they will give the final match to a referee who is just at the beginning of his career

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    4. If it’s CONCACAF this time, they will give it to Ramos or Elfath…

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  5. Very easy first half for Barton.

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  6. Simple first half but Barton looks alert!

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  7. As my mentor once told me. "You can only referee what's Infront of you." And that is very true of Barton and this first half. It has not been a difficult half by any stretch but he has handled it well and displayed all the skills and qualities I highlighted previously. At only 35 it is clear he referees "beyond his years" with a nuanced degree of maturity and class that would we usually reserve for "elder statesman". Undoubtedly the game will increase in intensity and difficulty and Barton and team should be equipped to handle what is thrown their way.

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  8. Perfect Barton at all. But nothing big to judge for the salvadorian referee.

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  10. Easy first half for Barton without any to report. Correct perofrmance for first half.

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  11. 40' Clip: https://streamable.com/9gq9ym

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  12. Barton gives me a chance of keep dreaming. He is probably the smallest referee in the WC but despite this he is there. Uefa and Conembol referees are so tall that makes almost impossible for me and others to ever have the hope of be there

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  13. Good performance from Barton at Halftime

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  14. Replies
    1. Agree. As was Letexier non call was.

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    2. It is Ivan Barton from El Salvador which is from CONCACAF who is the referee. Letexier isn't the referee in all the matches.

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    3. Oh my, not everything in life is about Letexier, Letexier and Letexier 🥱

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    4. Unfortunately for the ultra-biased Euro-snobs it is. A referee like Barton makes them uncomfortable.

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  15. Correct decision not to award a penalty

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    1. Oh. When it was Egypt, you spoke about scandal and penalty missed. Interesting change.

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    2. yeah because there was also a clear kick at Salah in that game…

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    3. 49' Clip: https://streamable.com/wjqogu

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    4. You cannot tell me that Salah was not kicked! Do I think it’s a foul? No. But if you are giving the earlier one as a foul and OFR then you have to give both. Anyways I thought Letexier did well but was let down by the VAR team.

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  16. Replies
    1. Replay YC 51' Clip: https://streamable.com/api4gu

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  17. Excellent advantage on 51' and then correct YC for SUI #10 for reckless upon ball out of play.

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    1. Agree. Absolutely brilliant.

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    2. I doubt he played the advantage. He did not signal the advantage, instead making the sign ‘ball was played’. Suggests he missed the stamp and probably the caution came from the team (Var?). But good decision, just like the caution for Col7 for his reckless tackle afterwards.

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  18. Very good YC for Xhaka after advantage

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  19. I didnt see advantage signal.

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  20. Hahahaha!!! Every time they put Infantino on the screen, the boos are louder than the homophobic chants at the Estadio Azteca.

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    1. Unusually, the in stadium pictures and tv pictures are completely different. The noise was related to onfield, rather than him this time

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    2. Noy always true. Fan cams shown on the TV broadcast are typically mirrored in the stadium so the fans can make a show of themselves. In this case they showed a CLOWN and fans reacted accordingly. But thank you for your opinion, Mr. Infantino.

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    3. Usually, yes. At this tournament, no. I'm sorry what I'm saying is true and you don't like that, but being dismissive doesn't change that

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  21. Do we have to see Infantino face?

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    1. Yes, so the fans can boo him mercilessly.

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    2. If it is shown for this purpose, I see no contraindications

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  22. Correct YC on 58' to SUI #6 for reckless challenge

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    1. YC 59' Clip: https://streamable.com/m6s1vd

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  23. Second perfect YC. Bravo Barton !

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  24. Another excellent award from YC Barton

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  25. Correct YC on 60' to COL #25 for delaying the restart

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    1. cant delay the restart if play hasn't stopped..

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    2. Yes that's clearly correct, a correct YC none the less just not for what I stated

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    3. Clip: https://streamable.com/aci8d0

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    4. Yup sorry just had to make sure wording was correct :)

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  26. Somewhat cheap maybe but probably clever to even out the cards

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  27. Bravo Barton for not being scared of issuing cards, the threshold for cards has been too high in this World Cup

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  28. Keeper made a meal of it, but you can’t ignore that kind of stupidity, Suarez absolutely had to be cautioned.

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  29. Barton fears nothing. He is following a clear and consistent line, and this third yellow card is absolutely spot on. His approach is so different from most referees, who seem reluctant to issue cautions, that you almost wonder whether he’s even listening to Collina and the rest of the refereeing leadership.

    Thank you, Ivan, for being such a breath of fresh air amid the controversial refereeing we’ve seen throughout this World Cup. Bravo, maestro.

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  30. Well done Barton. Superb so far

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  31. You see Barton is very alert all the time as Letexier always has been i UEFA-matches. Today he was "number 2 on the ball". Barton is number 1 tonight!!

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  32. Excellent Barton so far. Very alert and all mandatory YC issued without hesitation.

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  33. Clip for YC for impeding gk please

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    1. Why? You don't trust Barton's judgement?

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    2. @Arbiter
      I do. I just missed the incident. I just love watching Barton make those judgements.

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  34. Missed YC for face contact if I saw correct!

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    1. Careless not reckless. FK only is fine

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    2. Agree but very difficult to catch live. Because out of play vision for referee. Careless ? Out of any play of the ball. Never. YC mandatory if referee saw it.

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  35. For what I saw now, this match is not even 1/8 of pressure like Argentina Egypt, what is lucky for Barton.

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    1. I guess you didn't watch the Turkey vs. Paraguay match that Barton officiated. He handled the most difficult and chaotic game of the tournament by far without any issues

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    2. Watch it, but nothing like Argentina Egypt! After Arg-Egy, Mexico Argetina is second one in my view. That one was third!

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    3. People see what they want to see through biased glasses.
      Letexier and his VAR created the pressure and then folded under it.

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    4. Letexier proves that simply running around looking pretty and trying to talk you way out of everything doesn't work.

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    5. This guy is completely clueless, and his comments lose all credibility when he says Mexico played Argentina.

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    6. Arbiter your comments are absolutely ridiculous. Your hate of european referees is blinding your judgement. Letexier created the pressure ? What a shame to tell something like that.

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    7. Unfortunatly,I made mistake meant Mexico England

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    8. Your response is almost as ridiculous as Letexier's performance.
      Furthermore, get your facts straight before you assume anything about me. My "flame thrower" is equal opportunity. Uzbek, French, Mexican, Chilean, Canadian, USA, you name it.

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  36. Face contact means not always YC!

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  37. The match is getting tougher. I agree with most decisions, but he will need to figure out how to balance the decisions to cool down Switzerland

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    Replies
    1. Gotta find something eh? Keep digging, you might find something that actually sticks.

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  38. Good management on 73', quick response to injury and then to use good positive body language to diffuse any potential situation.

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  39. Wrongly called foul at 74. Play on the ball was obvious.

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  40. Nice to see a regeree who is clear in his communication. This means also that the players yrust him and also has an attitude between each other like in the challenge between goalkeeper and atya ker.

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  41. Quick and decisive.
    Properly read the possible injuries and was quick to stop play. Didn't delay his whistle like many other referees during the tournament.

    He was also proactive not reactive when he quickly moved to spot of the incident to prevent anything from happening. He didn't stand afar reactionless like too many referees have done.

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  42. This referee is only 34 years old.. wow

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  43. In a country like Germany with height discrimination (refs under 1.85m don’t really get selected for fast track programs), it’s refreshing to see that the best referee at this World Cup is the shortest man on the pitch.
    Hope he gets the final, would be well deserved.

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    Replies
    1. For the longest, it was the same way in the US. In order to be considered for advancement, you had to have "the look". And one of the required metrics was definitely height. It's gotten better somewhat, but biases still exist.

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  44. Ivan Barton is an incredible ref. Probably the best ref at this world cup and one of the best in the world.

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    1. But his confederation, mannerisms, and dare I say appearance. Make a lot of people uncomfortable.

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  45. Again very good no penalty decision by Barton.

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    1. Could have easily been the first YC for dive in this tournament imo

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  46. 86' Clip: https://streamable.com/dna1aq

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  47. PK missed imo, only thing against is that the attacker lost possibility to get the ball but really close call

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  48. Interesting PK shout för SWI, to me it looked like COL FK before though?

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  49. That was 200 % penalty ! Missed by Barton. No VAR intervention is ununderstanble.

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    1. It would have been a very soft penalty

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    2. please go back whistle to your 3rd country division

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  50. 90 + 1' - Never a pen, the ball was moving away from him and he just runs into the outstretched leg. Attacker initiated the contact.

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