There Will Be NO British Referees At The World Cup

There won't be a single British referee at the World Cup.

FIFA have confirmed the officials for the summer tournament, and it doesn't include anyone from England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

It's the first time since 1938 where there will be no British officiating representative at the World Cup.

Mark Clattenburg lost his opportunity to referee at the World Cup after venturing to Saudi Arabia.

Howard Webb was the only British referee at the 2010 and 2014 World Cup. He not only made it to South Africa in 2010 but also took charge of the final between Spain and the Netherlands.

Webb sends off Johnny Heitinga in the World Cup final. Image: PA

Meanwhile, flying the flag for Europe will be referees from Germany, Turkey, Russia, Holland, Poland, Spain, Serbia, Italy, Slovenia and France.

Some names including Bjorn Kuipers, Cuneyt Cakir and Felix Brych.

Here's the full list:

Image: FIFA

As well as six each from Africa, Asia, North & South America and two from Oceania.

To be fair, who can blame FIFA?!

They must have seen Premier League referee Anthony Taylor in action during the recent international friendly between Spain and Argentina.

He lost control of the game, and even blew the final whistle before the 90 minute mark.

What's your take on the lack of British referees? Let us know.

Topics: Football News, Football, Premier League, World Cup

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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