Argentine referee Facundo Tello will take charge of France’s quarter-final with Morocco and already finds himself at the centre of the latest refereeing controversy to hit World Cup 2026, before a ball has even been kicked.
Fifa has infuriated French fans and media by selecting Tello, as part of a fully Argentine five-man crew, for the clash in Boston on Thursday evening.
It marks the first time this tournament that every match official for a knockout fixture hails from the same nation, and comes at a time where accusations of favouritism towards Argentina are at their peak.
Holders Argentina controversially progressed to the quarter-finals after pulling off a miraculous late comeback against Egypt, winning 3-2 after trailing 2-0 to the Pharaohs, who had a goal controversially disallowed and protested angrily over a perceived foul in the build-up to Enzo Fernandez’s stoppage-time winner.
Mostafa Ziko, who had his strike chalked off before scoring later in the game, accused the World Cup of being “fixed” while Egypt have since launched an official complaint to Fifa demanding referee Francois Letexier and his team are kicked out of the tournament.
Fifa’s Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina hit back by claiming that “nobody can question the integrity” of the officiating during the tournament, decrying that their referees are “not influenced by anyone”.
However, the appointments for France’s meeting with Morocco have only fuelled the conspiracies, with Argentina one of Les Bleus’ main rivals for the World Cup crown.
Tello, 44, has been refereeing in Argentina’s top-flight since 2013 and also officiated at the World Cup in 2022. Morocco will have fond memories of one of three games he oversaw in Qatar, refereeing their 1-0 quarter-final win over Portugal.
He made history at Euro 2024 when he became just the second non-Uefa official to referee at the tournament, taking charge of Turkey vs Georgia and Scotland vs Hungary.
He is also infamous for once sending off 10 players in a single game, taking such strict action in Argentina’s Champions Trophy final between Racing Club and Boca Juniors in November 2022.
This tournament, Tello has overseen Canada’s opening 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as South Africa’s 1-0 win over South Korea. This will be his first knockouts match of World Cup 2026.
