Sampaio 'could referee World Cup final' after infuriating England

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio, who infuriated England with his decisions in their exit against France, is KEPT ON at the World Cup – and could officiate the final – as English ref Michael Oliver is sent home

  • Wilton Sampaio was the controversial referee in England’s defeat to France
  • The Three Lions exited the tournament with a 2-1 defeat in the quarter-finals
  • Sampaio made a number of shocking decisions which infuriated England
  • FIFA though have opted to keep him in Qatar meaning he could referee the final
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  • Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results

Wilton Sampaio, the Brazilian referee who was heavily condemned for his performance in England’s World Cup exit to France, has been kept on at the tournament and could officiate the final in Qatar. 

The Telegraph have reported that Sampaio has been kept on in Qatar following Brazil’s World Cup exit, though English referee Michael Oliver has been sent home.

FIFA’s decision means Sampaio could remarkably take charge of the final this Sunday, despite a host of controversial decisions in England’s 2-1 loss to France. 

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio could referee the final in Qatar after being kept on by FIFA

Sampaio infuriated England players and fans with a number of controversial decisions

He failed to give Harry Kane a first-half penalty for a challenge by France’s Dayot Upamecano

Bukayo Saka was fouled in the build-up to France’s opener during the quarter-final clash

England ultimately crashed out of the tournament after a painful 2-1 defeat by Les Bleus

Sampaio faced criticism from players, pundits and fans alike with particularly notable errors in the first-half of their clash with Les Bleus.

Harry Kane was denied a penalty after a foul by Dayot Upamecano inside the box, while Bukayo Saka was also fouled by the French defender in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni’s opening goal. 

A number of fouls, particularly against Saka, were not given during the match.

Sampaio did hand England two penalties during the game. One for a foul by Upamecano again on Saka, while the referee needed assistance from VAR to give a second spot-kick for a blatant foul by Theo Hernandez on Mason Mount inside the box.

Harry Kane scored the first penalty, before sending his second over the crossbar – with goals from Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud sending France into the semi-finals. 

Oliver had impressed with his control of matches at the World Cup including Brazil’s quarter-final defeat to Croatia, though he has reportedly been sent home. 

There is a chance though that Anthony Taylor could referee a semi-final or the final, as he and assistants Adam Nunn and Gary Beswick have been kept on.

The last Englishman to referee the final was Howard Webb in 2010.

It wasn’t the first game that Sampaio came under scrutiny in Qatar after he gave Saudi Arabia a controversial penalty in their 2-0 defeat to Poland. 

He used the pitchside monitor to penalise a challenge by Poland’s Krystian Bielik on Saudi forward Saleh Al-Shehri, despite minimal contact shown on the replays.

Before the match, as reported by the Telegraph, Sampaio had refereed 381 games in his career, giving out 1,856 yellow cards and 102 red cards. He has also awarded 114 penalty kicks.

At the last World Cup in Russia, he was part of the refereeing team that helped introduce VAR to the tournament.

His two other games at the 2022 tournament were both victories for Holland – against Senegal and the United States.




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