Who is referee for France v Morocco? Controversial selection for World Cup quarter-final

Wait 5 sec.

An Argentine will oversee France vs Morocco in Boston tonight as the 2022 semi-finalists reunite.Didier Deschamps‘ side take on the Atlas Lions – live on talkSPORT – with a place in the World Cup semi-finals up for grabs.Mbappe’s penalty against Paraguay became the country’s 150th World Cup goalGettyThe heavyweight clash was played at the last tournament, with Les Bleus proving too strong for Morocco as Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Munai scored in a 2-0 win for France.However, the champions of Africa will hope to return to the final four once again in 2026.France faced adversity in their round of 16 match against a ‘dirty’ Paraguay team who ironically did not receive a single yellow card throughout the whole fixture.The referee for that game was Uzbekistan’s Ilgiz Tantashev, who was widely criticised for his performance, with L’Equipe labelling him a mere 1/10.Who will referee France vs Morocco?Argentine official Facundo Tello has been handed refereeing duties for the tense last-eight fixture in Massachusetts.He has built up a reputation for being a strict referee and previously overseen the north African side in their surprise victory over Portugal in the 2022 World Cup.In that match, Tello dismissed Moroccan forward Walid Cheddira after he received a second yellow card in stoppage time.The 44-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2019 and is officiating at his second international tournament after making his debut in Qatar.He became well-known around the world after the 2022 Argentine Champions Trophy final between Boca Juniors and Racing Club, where he showed 10 red cards in a single game.The match was abandoned as, under the rules, a game cannot continue if a team has fewer than seven players.Morocco will hope to reach their second consecutive World Cup semi-finalGettyThroughout the current World Cup, only the referee and his two assistants are from the same nation, however, for the first time this summer, all five match officials are from Argentina.Some French fans are concerned, but France’s reserve goalkeeper Robin Risser told supporters they should not worry about bias.He said: “We must not become paranoid. If these referees are involved, it’s because they are up to the level of the competition.Deschamps has also been vocal on the situation, and added: “We have to deal with it. I trust the referees.“Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee. Let’s hope ours are as good as Monsieur Letexier was (the referee of Egypt vs Argentina).”VAR angerThe Pharaoh’s game led to football fans accusing FIFA of favouring Argentina after Egypt had their second goal disallowed by VAR.Egypt were left feeling a huge sense of injustice at full-timeGettyEgyptian players and staff were furious at the decision, and ugly scenes brewed at the end of the game, with multiple yellow cards handed out.After the game, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan didn’t hold back, stating: “We looked better than the reigning champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors off it.“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running.“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at every level.“There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome. We were objecting to the selection of the referee because of the French situation [Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup final], but everybody has to suffer at some point and we suffered.“We haven’t seen respect or fair play. A penalty was ruled out [alleged foul on Mohamed Salah], it was not even checked by the VAR and our second goal was remarkably, for whatever reason, disallowed.“We have all seen the shirt pulled back [by Mac Allister] and not even a VAR check. Life is unfair, normal life is unfair, so why is there no fairness in sports?“I’m not convinced by this outcome and the way things unfolded in this match. I want to put it in beautiful words and say hard luck, but we have been treated unfairly and it has been an injustice.”Tello has already taken charge of group-stage matches between Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as South Africa and South Korea at this tournament.Match Officials for France vs MoroccoMatch Official Referee: Facundo TelloAssistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo BelattiAssistant Referee 2: Gabriel ChadeFourth Official: Darío HerreraReserve Assistant Referee: Cristian NavarroFirst assistant referee Juan Pablo Belatti brings plenty of experience, having been assigned to the final between France and Croatia in Moscow in 2018.Additionally, he was also involved in a round of 16 match between Spain and Morocco in 2022.Gabriel Chade has also officiated Morocco at the previous tournament, including the quarter-final match against Portugal.