Premier League ref Taylor ‘barred’ from officiating World Cup final

France and Kylian Mbappé train ahead of the World Cup final

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Premier League referee Anthony Taylor has reportedly been barred from officiating in the World Cup final due to concerns over national bias. France take on Argentina in a mouthwatering clash at the Lusail Stadium on Sunday, but English official Taylor will not be used as part of FIFA’s refereeing team due to concerns over the history between the two nations.

The 44-year-old has been dealt a disappointing blow by the world football governing body after it emerged that FIFA have appointed Polish referee Szymon Marciniak instead. And the reasoning to snub Taylor appears to have been nothing to do with his ability as a referee.

According to The Times, there were fears that English officials have been barred from officiating games featuring Argentina due to concerns over the two nations’ tense history over the Falkland Islands.

FIFA reportedly see the concept of remaining neutral among officials as a ‘top priority’, and it is understood that the same rule would have been applied to Argentinian referees had they been in contention to referee England matches.

World Cup LIVE: France camel flu crisis, PL ref ‘barred’ from final

Taylor, who hails from the Manchester-based town of Wythenshawe, oversaw two World Cup group-stage matches. He was the man in the middle for Ghana’s 3-2 win over South Korea, which ended in controversy after the English referee sent off South Korea coach Paulo Bento at the final whistle.

He was also in charge for the goalless draw between Croatia and Belgium, which contributed to the latter’s early exit from the competition. Taylor dished out five yellow cards and no reds in his two games in Qatar.

Taylor was retained by FIFA after the quarter-final stage, while fellow Premier League referee Michael Oliver was sent home. However, the Englishman was not selected to officiate either of the semi-final matches between Croatia and Argentina and France and Morocco.

France take on Argentina in Sunday’s showpiece final but have been rocked by an outbreak of camel flu in their squad. Several players have reported they’re suffering from flu-like symptoms while Aurelien Tchouameni and Theo Hernandez had to skip training on Friday due to slight injuries.

France have taken strict measures to limit the spread of the virus before Sunday’s final, with infected stars isolating, more sanitation in place at the team’s hotel and workers being ordered to wear masks.

Boss Didier Deschamps believes the issue plaguing France is down to the air conditioning at stadiums in Qatar. “In Doha, temperatures have fallen a little bit, you have air conditioning which is on all the time,” Deschamps said earlier this week. “We’ve had a few cases of flu-like symptoms. We are trying to be careful so it doesn’t spread and players have made great efforts out on the pitch and obviously their immune systems suffer.

“Dayot Upamecano felt sick immediately after the match [against England]. It happens when you make such an effort, your body is weakened and you are more prone to be infected by these viruses. We are taking all necessary precautions, we are trying to make sure it doesn’t spread but viruses are of course infectious and we have to take precautions against it. We separated him from others and Adrien as well.”

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