Alan Shearer has questioned the refereeing of England’s World Cup semi-final. The former Three Lions striker was not satisfied with the appointment of manager Ismail Elfus and raised concerns about the use of VAR technology ahead of Wednesday’s clash.
Argentina stand in the way of coach Thomas Tuchel, who aims to advance to the World Cup finals in search of a silver medal in his third attempt after losing to Italy and Spain in 2021 and 2024, respectively. After reaching the World Cup final, the Moroccan-American official was entrusted with the responsibility of winning one of the biggest games in England’s history and righting the wrongs of their previous defeat.
Mr Shearer, who will be co-commentary for the BBC on the match, expressed concerns about the introduction of video assistant referee technology, which he fears could have a significant and detrimental impact on the semi-final in Atlanta. He told Betfair: “I think the way we look at referees and VAR has changed significantly from the beginning of the tournament until now, so I’m a little worried that there could be a loss due to the referee’s decisions and VAR in the match against Argentina.”
“It was in the France game when Mbappé was fouled and the referee told him to go to the screen and I thought it was a clear penalty and I stuck with the decision. And then, as the tournament dragged on, things have completely changed in the last 10 days, in the last two weeks.”
“And I was surprised by some of Argentina’s decisions. Especially against Egypt, when Egypt’s goal was set back and canceled out. I thought that was nonsense. I’m a little worried when we play against them.”
The 44-year-old will be in charge of his fourth match in this summer’s tournament. So far, he has been in charge of games between the Netherlands and Japan, Spain’s narrow win over Uruguay in the group stage, and Brazil’s loss to Erling Haaland’s Norway. He has so far brandished seven yellow cards, one red card and given away two penalties.
Messi has tasted victory in every match coached by Elfas. This includes the 2022 World Cup final, where the great Argentine player was the fourth official at the Qatar tournament, completing a string of laurels.
It will be the first time the two countries have met since England won 1-0 at the 2002 World Cup, and the first time in his illustrious career that he has faced the Three Lions on an international stage.
The two countries share a checkered history both on and off the pitch, and matches between the two countries are always controversial. Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God played against the Three Lions in the 1986 World Cup, and David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone at the 1998 World Cup.
VAR came to Norway’s rescue in the quarter-finals, with Jed Spence’s penalty appeal rejected by French referee Clement Tarpin, who ruled that the Tottenham Hotspur full-back had instigated the contact before going to the ground inside the box.
Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor and Facundo Tello are not allowed to officiate matches involving their respective countries due to political tensions stemming in part from the 1982 Falklands war, resulting in an American team of referees and assistant referees, with Italians Maurizio Mariani and Daniele Bindoni serving as the fourth official assistant referee and reserve assistant referee respectively.
