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Morocco vs France: Fifa stirs debate after picking all-Argentinian referee team
France and Argentina are on a collision course to reach the final in a repeat of the 2022 final won by the South Americans
- PUBLISHED: Thu 9 Jul 2026, 3:29 PM UPDATED: Thu 9 Jul 2026, 4:20 PM
Ahead of the highly-anticipated quarter-finals clash in the World Cup between Morocco and France on July 10, Fifa has revealed the names of referees which will officiate the match, picking an all-Argentinian team for the mission — a decision that has stirred a heated debate online.
The game, which will kick off in Boston Stadium at 12am on Friday UAE time, will be officiated by Argentine referee Facundo Tello. The assistant referees will be Argentinian nationals Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade, while the fourth official will be Dario Herrera and Cristian Navarro as the reserve assistant referee. This is the first time in this tournament that an entire officiating team for a match has come from the same country.
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Social media has reacted strongly to the choices, with some users questioning the selection of an all-Argentinian team for the Morocco clash, since France and Argentina are on a collision course to reach the final in a repeat of the 2022 final won by the South Americans. In the tournament which was hosted by Qatar four years ago, Argentina's star Lionel Messi and his teammates defeated Les Bleus and clinched the World Cup.
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France coach Didier Deschamps dismissed concerns shared widely across social media that the choice of Tello could spell trouble for his side. "There are always decisions that can lead to debate depending on which side you are on, but our opponents are Morocco," Deschamps said. "I can't consider the referee to be an opponent."
The winner of Thursday's game will face a semi-final against the victor of Friday's tie in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.
Debate following Egypt match
On the other hand, Fifa has come under fire over several decisions made by French referee François Letexier during the Argentina versus Egypt match on July 7, with Egypt coach Hossam Hassan launching a scathing attack on the world football's governing body and claiming his team had been treated unjustly.
During the game, Egypt had a Mostafa Zico goal ruled out when they were leading 1-0, VAR intervened to spot a foul on Argentina player Lisandro Martinez much earlier in the move. The controversy did not end there, though, as in the build-up to Argentina's winner scored by Enzo Fernandez, Egypt believe they should have instead been awarded a penalty for a pull by Alexis Mac Allister on Hamdy Fathy.
Many other decisions by Letexier were met with harsh criticisms from the Egyptian team.
In an interview published today, Fifa refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officials operated with complete independence.
However, many Egyptian fans remain unconvinced, questioning Fifa's integrity, and conspiracy theories are rife connecting the dots between the decision to choose a French referee for Argentina's match and an Argentinian one for France's game.
(With inputs from AFP)
Yasmin Hussein is an Assistant Digital Editor who believes that every news story carries a human element. Her motto is 'get it first, but first get it right'.