Taylor won’t take charge of the World Cup.
Anthony Taylor’s time at the World Cup has come to an end after he wasn’t picked to be the referee to officiate the World Cup final on Sunday.
Szymon Marciniak of Poland will be the man in the middle for the crunch game between France and Argentina at the Lusail Stadium.
Marciniak was chosen ahead of Holland’s Danny Makkelie and Brazil’s Wilton Sampaio – who controversially refereed England’s quarter final defeat against France – and Taylor.
The 41-year-old becomes the first man from Poland to take charge of a World Cup final.
Reports have suggested though that Taylor was never in contention to take charge of the final with FIFA concerned about an English official being involved in a game with Argentina.
The Times have claimed that English referees have been banned of taking charge in games involving Argentina due to fears of bias around the Falkland Islands.
Taylor remained in Qatar while other English referees were sent home but hasn’t been given a game to ref or take charge of as a fourth official.
Had Taylor been selected, he would’ve been the first English referee to take charge of a World Cup final since Howard Webb in 2010 as Spain went on to beat the Netherlands.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chairman of referees, is said to be a big fan of Taylor and was rumoured to be a genuine contender to be the man with the whistle for the final, until Argentina beat Croatia in their semi final showdown.
FIFA value neutrality when it comes to referees taking charge of games and it is believed that Argentinian officials have been barred from being involved in games with England.
Related links:
- The reason why ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley left the World Cup early
- Karim Benzema breaks silence on World Cup final appearance
- Morocco launch official complaint about World Cup semi-final referee
