FIFA announced a change of referee early in the tournament after Briton Michael Oliver was told he would miss the first match.
Premier League referee Michael Oliver to be replaced for the opening game of the 2026 World Cup (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Premier League referee Michael Oliver missed the first World Cup match due to injury.
Referee Jordy was scheduled to take center stage for the game between Ecuador and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia early Monday morning. However, FIFA announced that Oliver will appear as a substitute in the Group E match.
FIFA said in a statement: “Change of appointment: Due to a minor injury, Francois Letexier (France) will replace referee Michael Oliver (England) as referee. Oliver is expected to be reselected in the coming days.”
His withdrawal means that leading British officials Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring will also miss out in Philadelphia. FIFA announced that in addition to the experienced Letexier, Cyril Meunier and Mehdi Rahmouni have been called up.
Get the latest 2026 World Cup news in your inbox with our Make Football Great Again newsletter
Oliver, who has refereed at the top level in the Champions League, 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024, spoke about the topic of refereeing in major competitions two years ago. At the time, he said before the Euros: “The world’s attention is on this tournament.
“When you arrive at the stadium, you feel the atmosphere is different. The pressure, the competition, the quality of the matches are all higher.
Oliver is a world-class referee (Image: Getty Images)
“We know the pressure, but we just try to prepare as best as we can and be ready for it. We arrive five minutes before kick-off, leave immediately after and the knowledge is that we won’t think about football for a week.”
“But we spend a lot of training and effort to be the best and limit mistakes. No one needs to tell me after the game how well or poorly I did. I know that better than anyone.”
Oliver has been an international referee since 2012 and has been part of UEFA’s elite group since 2018. Oliver is expected to support them in the next group match.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with Sky Glass ‘designed for soccer’
From £4.50
sky
Get the deal here
Sky is marking the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 20% discount on its entire range of glass TVs. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to a Sky smart TV ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 a month when taken with a Sky TV and Netflix package.
