Despite being widely chastised for his performance during England’s defeat to France, referee Wilton Sampaio has been given the opportunity to take charge of the World Cup final.
Sampaio has faced criticism for several decisions he made during the quarter-final match that led to England’s elimination. Many commentators believe he should have given the Three Lions a free kick in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener for a foul on Bukayo Saka.
He then failed to award a penalty when Harry Kane was brought down by Dayot Upamencano, forcing VAR to award England a penalty when Theo Hernandez barged into Mason Mount just after Olivier Giroud had put France back ahead.
Despite this criticism, FIFA has decided to keep Sampaio at the World Cup. Several officials, including English referee Michael Oliver, have been sent home.
As a result of the decision, Sampaio has a chance to take charge of the final World Cup match. He has yet to be scheduled for the semi-finals, which will be played between Argentina and Croatia on Tuesday and France and Morocco on Wednesday.
The Brazilian will compete with Anthony Taylor for the honor of presiding over football’s biggest game. Many will be surprised that he has been retained, including England star Harry Maguire, who slammed Sampaio’s performance on Saturday.
“Big decisions went against us, or should I say a lot of decisions went against us. The referee’s decision-making throughout the game was, in my opinion, extremely poor. We always stand here, and as players, we are constantly chastised “He stated to BBC Sport.
“So it’ll be interesting to see if he comes out and says whether or not he had a good game. Because they made so many decisions in the first half, including five or six early fouls. H [Harry Kane] was probably outside the box, but it was a clear foul.
“He didn’t in the second half, and Bukayo’s foul set up their first goal. Big moments, big decisions, you expect some to be correct, but tonight we didn’t.”
Gary Neville, a former England international, was also harshly critical of the Brazilian official. The Manchester United legend took aim at a number of decisions that, in his opinion, Sampaio made incorrectly.
“I thought he was terrible. By the way, I’m not blaming the referee for England’s elimination; I just thought he was terrible. That is something I no longer say. I used to when I was a kid. However, it is becoming increasingly rare “Neville stated.
“He was a surprise to me. We were sitting right there in the corner where Harry Kane took the penalty in the first half. We had the impression that we were on top of things. In the first half, there were three or four fouls in that area of the field that made you wonder, ‘How has that not been given?’ It was strange.
“Even the penalty against Theo Hernandez was not called on the field. Do not overthink it. That was a blatant foul. The referee was terrible.”