This summer’s World Cup will feature no English referees for the first time in post-war history, nor assistants, after FIFA confirmed its official list of 99 match officials for Russia 2018 yesterday.
England whistler Mark Clattenburg, who retired from Premier League duty last summer, had been included on a pre-selected group drawn up by world ruling body FIFA two years ago.
But his money-spinning move to Saudi Arabia left no English referees on FIFA’s World Cup list for the first time since before the second world war.
The Football Association did ask world governing body FIFA to replace him with another official but it rejected the request.
The referees representing UEFA-affiliated countries are from Germany, Turkey, Russia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Serbia, Italy, Slovenia and France.
In another snub to England, globally considered the creators of the ‘beautiful game’, no English assistants will officiate at the competition.
FIFA’s decision comes amid the ongoing tension between Britain and Russia following the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.
The incident, which has since led to tit-for-tat expulsions of foreign embassy staff, prompted Britain’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, to decide that no British dignitaries or members of the royal family will attend the competition, held 14 June – 15 July.
LIST OF MATCH OFFICIALS
Referees: Fahad Al Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia) Alireza Faghani (Iran) Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Mohammed Abdulla Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) Ryuji Sato (Japan) Nawaf Abdulla Shukralla (Bahrain) Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria) Malang Diedhiou (Senegal) Bakary Papa Gassama (Gambia) Ghead Grisha (Egypt) Janny Sikazwe (Zambia) Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia) Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Mark W Geiger (U.S.) Jair Marrufo (U.S.) Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica) John Pitti (Panama) Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos (Mexico) Julio Bascunan (Chile) Enrique Caceres (Paraguay) Andres Cunha (Uruguay) Nestor Pitana (Argentina) Sandro Ricci (Brazil) Wilmar Roldan (Colombia) Matthew Conger (New Zealand) Norbert Hauata (Tahiti) Felix Brych (Germany) Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) Sergey Karasev (Russia) Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands) Szymon Marciniak (Poland) Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (Spain) Milorad Mazic (Serbia) Gianluca Rocchi (Italy) Damir Skomina (Slovenia) Clement Turpin (France)
Assistant Referees: Yaser Khalil Abdulla Tulefat (Bahrain) Mohammed Al Abakry (Saudi Arabia) Taleb Al Marri (Qatar) Mohamed Alhammadi (United Arab Emirates) Abdulah Alshalwai (Saudi Arabia) Mohammadreza Mansouri (Iran) Abduxamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan) Toru Sagara (Japan) Jakhongir Saidov (Uzbekistan) Reza Sokhandan (Iran) Redouane Achik (Morocco) Waleed Ahmed (Sudan) Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi) Djibril Camara (Senegal) Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos (Angola) Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria) Anouar Hmila (Tunisia) Marwa Range (Kenya) El Hadji Malick Samba (Senegal) Zakhele Thusi Siwela (South Africa) Frank Anderson (U.S.) Joe Fletcher (Canada) Miguel Angel Hernandez Paredes (Mexico) Juan Carlos Mora Araya (Costa Rica) Corey Rockwell (U.S.) Marvin Torrentera (Mexico) Gabriel Victoria (Panama) Juan Zumba (El Salvador) Carlos Astroza (Chile) Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina) Eduardo Cardozo (Paraguay) Emerson De Carvalho (Brazil) Cristian De La Cruz (Colombia) Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay) Alexander Guzman (Colombia) Hernan Maidana (Argentina) Christian Schiemann (Chile) Nicolas Taran (Uruguay) Marcelo Van Gasse (Brazil) Juan Zorrilla (Paraguay) Bertrand Brial (New Caledonia) Simon Lount (New Zealand) Tevita Makasini (Tonga) Anton Averianov (Russia) Mark Borsch (Germany) Pau Cebrian Devis (Spain) Nicolas Danos (France) Elenito Di Liberatore (Italy) Roberto Diaz Perez (Spain) Dalibor Djurdjevic (Serbia) Bahattin Duran (Turkey) Cyril Gringore (France) Tikhon Kalugin (Russia) Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland) Stefan Lupp (Germany) Tarik Ongun (Turkey) Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia) Milovan Ristic (Serbia) Pawel Sokolnicki (Poland) Mauro Tonolini (Italy) Sander Van Roekel (Netherlands) Robert Vukan (Slovenia) Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands).
