Facundo Tello will officiate the game between France and Morocco
Football fans have reacted with surprise after FIFA appointed an all-Argentine refereeing team to officiate France's FIFA World Cup Round of 8 match against Morocco.
Referee Facundo Tello will take charge of Thursday's knockout tie in Boston, with his two assistant referees, the fourth official, and the reserve assistant referee all coming from Argentina.
FIFA had not confirmed the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team at the time of the announcement.
The appointment has sparked debate on social media, with some supporters questioning whether officials from Argentina should oversee a match involving France, given the fierce rivalry between the two nations and their status as leading contenders for the World Cup.
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One fan wrote: "All Argentina referees for a France match, FIFA trying everything to rig the World Cup for Argentina once again."
Another posted: "FIFA doesn't hide it anymore. All Argentinian. Why don't you bring Messi to check the VAR too?"
A third supporter accused football's governing body of lacking credibility, while another claimed the decision was "clearly on purpose".
The reactions come just hours after Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt in the Round of 16, a match that prompted strong criticism from the Egyptian camp over several refereeing decisions.
However, many of the conspiracy claims overlook one important detail. Argentina's 3-2 victory over Egypt was officiated by a French refereeing team led by Francois Letexier, with fellow French officials also serving as assistant referees and VAR officials.
Read some of the reactions below:
they aren’t even trying to hide it lol
— ♱ (@utddahnny) July 7, 2026
A strange decision by FIFA. In a game this important, neutrality should not only exist, it should be obvious
— Abubakar Misau (@Abubakarmsa99) July 7, 2026
FIFA aren't even hiding the fact that they want Argentina to win the world cup but France would definitely win
— Daniell 🇫🇷 (@DaniellRMFC) July 7, 2026
They want to terminate France as soon as possible
— Joshy🇵🇹 (@NFA_WIN) July 7, 2026
Robbery in broad daylight and they don't even hide it anymore really disgusting ugh
— Yvi (@ivonn_2408) July 8, 2026
FIFA doing all they can to clear Argentina ways to the final and France is important in there mission , this will be a very bias match
— @RealAlexTalks (@AlexTunmise) July 8, 2026
From the very beginning FIFA structured this competition to favor messi and Argentina cuzz what is this 🤣🤣🤣
— AdÉ (@Pdabioye) July 7, 2026
How is anyone allowing any nation currently still in the tournament to ref anything ? Should be all non biased parties
— (C) Morgan Wiley 🏴🏴 (@CoventryKing) July 8, 2026
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