Argentina and France battled in what was the greatest final in the history of the FIFA World Cup in 2022, with the South American side winning on penalties. Four years later, the two teams are again two of the strongest contenders for the coveted trophy. Both nations have made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament. As France clash against Morocco in their quarter-final tie, an all-Argentinian referee team will oversee the clash. Fans have reacted to this decision by FIFA to appoint Argentine referees in a knockout clash involving France.
FIFA appoints Argentinian referee for France vs Morocco quarter-finals
The match officials for @FIFAWorldCup match 97 have been appointed. 🤝
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) July 7, 2026
The France vs Morocco quarterfinal match will be refereed by Facundo Tello from Argentina. FIFA has announced that in the semifinals, the French team will have a referee from Argentina, and that is a surprise, but it is happening. Facundo Tello, the Argentine referee, will be in charge of the France-Morocco semifinal at the World Cup. Along with Tello, Darío Herrera will be the fourth official.
Fans react to FIFA appointing Argentinian referees for France vs Morocco
😂😂😂 how can you allow every single referee to be from the same country – let alone a country that potentially could still be in the tournament when the match is played https://t.co/rhppJy0hJ0
— Fredrik (@F_Edits) July 7, 2026
What led to FIFA thinking this would be a good idea https://t.co/E2SYh2Wwyy
— B (@utdbrxy) July 7, 2026
5 árbitros argentinos tú, ni se tapan. https://t.co/OpJgvarGes
— Rеvеn (@RevenRV) July 7, 2026
Nah this is the most obvious match fixing ever LMFAOOOOO https://t.co/Mokk1BshJc
— Hasan 👁🗨 (@flackospalace) July 7, 2026
Why did FIFA appoint Argentine referees for France vs Morocco?
As a rule, FIFA sends referees from CONMEBOL to officiate decisive matches between UEFA and CAF teams so that neutrality can be maintained; for instance, France playing a representative of UEFA and Morocco for CAF. That means, such a FIFA referee’s pick of CONMEBOL does not result solely from chance.
Where there is no conflict of interest, an Argentinian officiating team is the best possible. Since the time that Herrera and Tello refereed several matches for the group-phase and then knock-out stages of this competition (and that Herrera has also taken part in previous World Cups), they have accumulated significant experience, which they will be very confident bringing into the quarter-final. Argentine officials are often referees for Copa Libertadores final matches and Copa América knockout matches, before these games would go to World Cup spots. So, they are among the finest in CONMEBOL.
