An all-Argentine refereeing team to officiate the Morocco vs. France match

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) officially announced the appointment of Argentine referee Facundo Tello to officiate the highly anticipated match between France and Morocco, scheduled for Thursday in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

According to the EuroSport website, this match will witness a historic precedent in the current edition of the World Cup, as the entire officiating team will be of a single nationality (Argentina), from the on-field referees to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room officials.

This appointment comes with an interesting irony: while the appointment of French referee François Letexier to officiate the Argentina vs. Egypt match had sparked some controversy and reactions in Argentine circles, FIFA decided to entrust the whistle for the match between France (the former champion) and Morocco to an Argentine team.

Composition of the Argentine officiating team:

Referee: Facundo Tello.

Assistant referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti.

Assistant referee 2: Gabriel Chade.

Fourth official: Dario Herrera.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Christian Navarro.

Tello's journey in the 2026 World Cup

This is Facundo Tello's second international participation in World Cup tournaments. In the current edition (2026), Thursday's match (at 22:00 GMT+2) will be the first he has officiated in the knockout stages, and the third overall in the tournament, having previously officiated two matches in the group stage: Canada vs. Bosnia (ended 1-1 draw) and South Korea vs. South Africa (ended 1-0 win for South Korea).