Why Anthony Taylor Was Blocked From Refereeing The World Cup Final

Anthony Taylor was blocked from refereeing the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France because of the Falklands War according to reports.

Poland’s Szymon Marciniak will oversee Sunday’s showpiece event between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium.

Marciniak beat Holland’s Danny Makkelie and Brazil’s Wilton Sampaio, who made controversial decisions in England’s quarter-final defeat to France.

According to Times reports, English referees have been barred from taking charge of matches featuring Argentina due to fears of bias around the Falkland Islands.

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Anthony Taylor was kept on in Qatar when other English referees were sent home, including Michael Oliver.

But the referee from Greater Manchester was not given another match to referee or to be the fourth official.

While there is nothing wrong at all with Marciniak’s appointment, there is the question of why Taylor wasn’t selected given his vast experience with big games including the 2017 FA Cup final and the 2021 Nations League final.

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chairman of referees, is believed to be a big fan of Taylor’s game-management skills.

He was thought to be a genuine contender to land the World Cup final until Argentina beat Croatia. He’s not been involved in a knockout match at the tournament.

FIFA value the importance of neutrality among officials and it is thought that Argentinian referees would also have been barred from England games.

Anthony Taylor reffed two games at the World Cup (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Taylor took charge of Belgium’s goalless draw with Croatia and Ghana’s 3-2 win over South Korea in the group stage round.

Had Taylor landed the World Cup final, he would have been the first English referee to do so since 2010, when Howard Webb officiated Spain vs. Netherlands.

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But he’s lost out to Marciniak who will be joined by fellow Polish officials Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz as assistant referees.

The 41-year-old is the first Poland native to be handed the job of refereeing the World Cup final.

He also became the first Polish referee to officiate a major European semi-final, having overseen Liverpool’s victory over Villarreal in the Champions League.

According to The Times, Taylor was unable to be chosen for the final due to the political tensions between the UK and Argentina as a result of the Falklands conflict in 1982.

Political neutrality plays a huge part of FIFA’s appointment system, and as such English referees cannot officiate Argentina’s games and vice-versa.

While there is no insinuation that officials would be biased, the governing body wants to avoid any situation where players and managers can accuse them of such.