FIFA Excludes Referees from Egypt vs Argentina Match from World Cup

FIFA has decided to exclude French referee François Letexier and his compatriot Clément Turpin from officiating any remaining matches in the 2026 World Cup, following France's successful qualification for the semi-finals. This regulatory measure is based on strict rules from FIFA's refereeing committee, which mandates the exclusion of referees from countries whose teams reach the semi-finals as a precautionary step to ensure absolute integrity and eliminate any potential conflicts of interest during the critical knockout stages. According to French newspaper L'Équipe, the departure of referees from the World Cup's final four is a protocol step automatically implemented to protect officiating teams, affecting referees from the four countries that qualified for the semi-finals (France, Spain, Argentina, England) to completely isolate them from the pressures of fans and media during the final stages. Despite Letexier (referee of the Egypt vs Argentina match) and Turpin being removed from the officiating list, FIFA has confirmed that French referee Jérôme Brisard remains available as an option for the refereeing committee in upcoming rounds; however, Brisard, who recently won the award for best referee in Ligue 1, will only serve in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room, a role he has held since the start of the World Cup without officiating any matches as the main referee. France will face Spain tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10 PM Cairo and Mecca time at the Dallas Stadium in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.