FIFA's unusual decision for France's World Cup quarter-final explained after fan questions emerge

The World Cup quarter-final tie between France and Morocco will see a tournament first - in that all five appointed match officials are from the same nation.

France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in an ill-tempered last 16 clash, with Paraguay players repeatedly targeting their opponents including star striker and captain Kylian Mbappe.

Morocco, meanwhile, defeated Netherlands on penalties after the score was locked at 1-1 following the 120 minutes.

The quarter-final will be a repeat of the semi-final clash from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where France emerged as 2-0 winners before losing to Argentina on penalties in an all-time classic final.

The match will be officiated by referee Facundo Tello, who is part of an all-Argentinian team for the match.

All five on-site match officials, including the fourth official and the reserve assistant referee, are all from Argentina, with Tello joined by assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade, fourth official Dario Herrera and reserve official Cristian Navarro.

Argentina's Facundo Tello will referee the World Cup quarter-final between France and Morocco (Image: Getty)

Fans have raised question marks about FIFA's decision on social media, and while it is the first occasion of a match being taken charge of by a single nation of officials, it has been commonplace during the World Cup for referees and their assistants to each be from the same nation.

For instance, England's thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico in the last 16 was overseen by a trio of Australian referees, with officials from Morocco named as fourth official and reserve official respectively.

And three French officials were appointed to Argentina's 3-2 win over Egypt on Tuesday, with a further two officials in the VAR room.

FIFA's decision over referee appointments for France versus Morocco was made on Monday, before the Argentina versus Egypt fixture. The VAR appointments for the fixture are yet to be confirmed.

Egypt forward Mostafa Ziko claimed that the French referee, Francois Letexier, was 'unfair' during his side's defeat to Argentina, claiming to reporters: "The referee wasn't good. He was unfair. His injustice was clear. He persecuted us from the start of the match. He doesn't want us to win."

Who will referee the final matches at the 2026 World Cup?

FIFA do not decide on the appointment of the World Cup final referee until the two teams that will contest it have been confirmed, as a referee cannot officiate his own nation.

Poland's Szymon Marciniak refereed the 2022 final between Argentina and France and could officiate the 2026 final, while Dutch official Danny Makkelie is another option after Netherlands' early round of 32 elimination to Morocco.

CONMEBOL - South American football's governing body - has sent 12 referees to the World Cup, including Brazil's Raphael Claus.

Should Claus be appointed to the final, he may have an awkward meeting with US President Donald Trump, who is expected to attend and present the winners' trophy despite not yet being seen at a match during the World Cup.

Trump described Claus as 'very suspect' after he sent off Folarin Balogun, after VAR review, in the USA's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Claus' decision inadvertently has caused significant controversy, with Trump personally calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the sanction.

FIFA subsequently decided to suspend Balogun's red card for a period of one year, which allowed him to play against Belgium - a decision which has been heavily criticised.

USA went on to lose 4-1 to Belgium on Monday.

READ MORE: Folarin Balogun finally addresses red card controversy as he makes honest admission

After being asked about the input of his White House administration in getting the red card reviewed, Trump said of Claus: "If you check his past... I don't want to say that because I don't like to create controversy, but very suspect."

FIFA's head of referees, Pierluigi Collina, responded: "FIFA recognises Raphael Claus as one of the world's leading professional referees and a valued member of Team One at the FIFA World Cup.

"Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.

"Raphael Claus is refereeing at his second FIFA World Cup, having been with us in Qatar in 2022. He is an experienced and highly respected referee, and we maintain full confidence in him as a trusted match official."