FIFA appoint referee for Mexico vs England who made 'one of the worst' World Cup decisions

FIFA have announced that Australian official Alireza Faghani will take charge of England's last-16 showdown against Mexico, and this is seen as a controversial call by many.

England are preparing for a knockout clash against one of the tournaments host countries, and the build-up has been dominated by changes to the kick off time.

The original match had been set to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday (1am BST), but due to concerns around forecasted flooding and thunderstorms, FIFA proposed to bring the match forward six hours.

Mexico manager Javier Aguirre was left fuming by that decision, as his team were set to have six hours less to prepare for arguably their biggest game in years, with the fixture set to kick off at 12pm local time.

But late on Saturday night, FIFA confirmed that the game will get underway at the original time after the FA were left 'deeply concerned' about the fans who had planned to attend the showdown in Mexico City.

Pubs will now stay open until 5am for fans across the UK to watch the Three Lions, as confirmed by Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Friday, with England bidding to make a third successive quarter-final appearance at the World Cup.

But while supporters of both nations will be pleased that changes to kick off time won't be tampered with, FIFA have made arguably another controversial decision ahead of the clash.

Alireza Faghani appointed as referee for Mexico vs England

FIFA have confirmed that Alireza Faghani will referee England's mouth-watering fixture against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.

The 48-year-old is officiating at his third World Cup after being called up to the 2014 edition in Brazil and Russia in 2018.

READ MORE: England v Mexico prediction and preview: World Cup reaches boiling point for expectant fans

Faghani was considered one of the best officials in the world in 2010, but complacency has crept into his decisions, and he's been involved in a high-profile incident during this tournament.

The Australian took charge of a group stage clash between France and Senegal last month. Kylian Mbappe stole the headlines with his brace as his side ran out 3-1 winners against their African opponents.

However, he should have had the chance to score a hat-trick from the penalty spot when he was brought down in the box under Sadio Mane's clumsy challenge.

Faghani didn't award a spot kick in real-time, and then somehow chose against changing his decision after reviewing the incident on a pitchside monitor.

Instead, the experienced official pointed for a Senegal goal kick, and that sparked mass outrage from current and former referees.

Darren Cann - the 2010 World Cup final assistant referee - said: "My phone has blown up with messages from several of the world's best referees who also can't understand why a penalty wasn't given."

Meanwhile, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara labelled it 'one of the worst decisions' he's ever seen.

"That was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen," O'Hara ranted.

"I mean, how is the World Cup going to allow that to happen? That referee, he was not good."

England will hope they aren't on the wrong end of a controversial decision against Mexico, as they aim to reach the last eight.