In the last minute before the World Cup matches, referees can also get injured, just like football players. Englishman Michael Oliver thus, due to a last-minute injury, he will not referee his first match at the 2026 World Cup. The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced that the 41-year-old was replaced by the Frenchman for the Group E match between the Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Philadelphia François Letexier.
Fifa added that Oliver was expected to be available again for delegation “in the coming days”, but did not disclose details of his injury. Along with Oliver, his assistants were also changed, and instead of the English refereeing team, the match will be led by the French team with Letexier at the head.
Oliver is one of England’s two head referees at this year’s World Cup, the other being Anthony Taylor. English assistants also participate in the championship Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn, Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring.
Slavko Vinčić will referee the match between Brazil and Morocco. PHOTO: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
The experienced Oliver has been refereeing in the English Premier League since 2010, and since 2018 he has also been a member of the elite group of referees of the European Football Association (UEFA). He has already refereed over 400 matches in the elite league on the Island, and in 2024 he refereed the match between Norway and Slovenia in the League of Nations match in Stožice. He has already refereed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, including the quarter-final match between Croatia and Brazil, and at the 2024 European Championship.
Football referees must be in top physical condition to perform at the biggest competitions. In a race, they usually run between 10 and 13 kilometers, with a large part of the distance covered at a high intensity, with many accelerations and changes of direction. Before the World Cup, they must successfully pass demanding Fifa physical tests, so an injury to a referee right before a match is no less unpleasant than an injury to the players – due to high physical loads, referees are also exposed to muscle injuries.
52 main referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 referees in the video room participate in the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
