Argentina’s fate at the World Cup is not decided yet as they prepare for a quarterfinal clash. But a recent decision from FIFA has shed some clarity on who won’t be going to oversee their games should they advance to the semis and beyond.
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Reports say FIFA has ruled that Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor will not officiate Argentina’s matches at this year’s World Cup. The experienced Premier League referees hail from England and are already working at the tournament, but they cannot work on the Argentine games due to geopolitical neutrality policies, according to the Independent.
Argentina and England were locked in the undeclared Falklands War 44 years ago for control over the Falkland Islands. The battle lasted for nearly 2 and a half months and still continues to cast a shadow on the geopolitical relations between the two countries in the present.
FIFA takes multiple factors into account before assigning a referee for any match at the World Cup. A referee cannot officiate their home country’s game and also can not work on a game that can have potential implications for their country.
Oliver and Taylor were similarly barred from refereeing any of England’s games or even any game in their Group L, which could have a bearing on England’s final position.
Argentina prepares to face Switzerland in the quarterfinals, and the Portuguese official, Referee João Pinheiro, will oversee the game, as the winner could meet England in the semifinals. Should England win their last-eight clash agaisnt their Norway, it could open the path for an England vs Argentina semifinal, meaning neither referee could work on that game.
The nationality of the referees during certain games has been a talking point at this World Cup. When France’s Francois Letexier worked on Argentina’s game, many believed it would influence Argentina negatively, but those fears were quashed when the game allegedly featured multiple questionable calls in Argentina’s favor.
Similarly, when an all-Argentine refereeing team oversaw the France-Morocco quarterfinals clash, fans found conspiracy theories that the calls could hurt the teams. But as it turned out, France comfortably coasted into the final four after beating Morocco 2-0.
Argentina’s clash against Switzerland will be officiated by the Portuguese team led by João Pinheiro. Argentine fans were quick to point out that this might not work in their favor, as the referees would have certain biases towards players.
But with the way the games are going, there has been no evidence that certain calls are made with bias, except for fan outrage that was strongly dismissed by players and coaches.
