SÃO PAULO, SP (UOL/FOLHAPRESS) - English referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor and Argentine referees Yael Falcon Perez, Darío Herrera and Facundo Tello cannot referee each other's games at the World Cup and there are two reasons for this.
Why the English and Argentines can't referee each other's World Cup games
SÃO PAULO, SP (UOL/FOLHAPRESS) - English referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor and Argentine referees Yael Falcon Perez, Darío Herrera and Facundo Tello cannot referee each other's games at the World Cup and there...
The first reason involves the Falklands War. The 1982 conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the Falkland Islands - a battle won by the British - still has an impact on relations between the inhabitants of the two countries. For this reason, FIFA does not select Englishmen for games involving the South American team and vice versa.
Football's highest entity always pays attention to geopolitical details. It is for this reason, too, that FIFA has a list of "banned games", such as Russia x Ukraine and Armenia x Azerbaijan, which involve teams from countries in constant conflict.
The other reason is the playoff selection for this World Cup. Argentina and England are on the same side of the bracket and will face each other in the semi-finals if they beat Switzerland and Norway, respectively. Referees from any country cannot command matches of potential opponents of their nations.
The five referees should only be selected for a semi-final or final game if they do not feature England or Argentina. They are among the main referees in their countries and have a place in FIFA.
Michael Oliver and Facundo Tello are in the quarterfinals, but on the other side of the bracket. The Englishman will lead the clash between Belgium and Spain, while the Argentine will be the referee for France x Morocco, which caused outrage due to the recent rivalry between the French and Argentines.
England and Argentina enter the field in the quarterfinals of the World Cup next Saturday. At 6pm (Brasília time), the English face Norway and, later, at 10pm, the Argentines duel with Switzerland.
Read Also: World Cup returns with duel between France and Morocco
Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Ultima Hora
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