Support The Moscow Times!

No British Referees at World Cup in Russia for First Time Since 1938

Mark Clattenburg, an English professional football referee. Wikicommons

No British referees will take part in this year's World Cup in Russia, the first such absence in 80 years.

The list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees published by world soccer's ruling body FIFA on Thursday confirmed officials from 46 countries but none from England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The United States, with two referees and two assistants, was best represented.

Video assistant referees, who will be used for the first time at a World Cup when the tournament starts on June 14, will be chosen from the pool of named officials.

England's Mark Clattenburg, who refereed the 2016 European championship final between hosts France and Portugal, had been on FIFA's early list but he left the Premier League last season for a job in Saudi Arabia.

"It is a disappointment, because we pride ourselves on the international games that our referees have had over the years," Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Mike Riley told Sky Sports television this month.

"At the time Mark left for Saudi Arabia, there were actually no competitions left to train the referees, so there was no opportunity to replace him with another English referee."

Howard Webb, who refereed the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa, was the sole English referee that year and in Brazil in 2014.

Three other finals have been refereed by Englishmen — George Reader in 1950, William Ling in 1954 and Jack Taylor in 1974.

England have qualified for the finals, the only home nation to do so.

Britain has said it will not send ministers or members of the royal family in delegations to the World Cup, blaming Russia for the chemical poisoning of a former Russian double agent in the English city of Salisbury this month.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more