The 2026 FIFA World Cup returns to Dallas Stadium on Monday, July 6, when Portugal plays Spain at 2 p.m. Refereeing is back in the spotlight after FIFA announced English referee Anthony Taylor would be the head referee for the match.
Taylor has had notable moments in international club and country tournaments, including the 2024 Euros and the 2023 Europa League Final.
In the 2024 Euros quarterfinals, Taylor refused to award Germany a penalty after a Spanish player’s hand ended up in front of a German’s player’s shot-on-goal in extra time. Spain would go on to win the game and the tournament.
STUTTGART, GERMANY – JULY 5: Hand play by Cucurella of Spain after Jamal Musiala’s shot is not penalized by VAR during the UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final match between Spain and Germany at Stuttgart Arena on July 5, 2024 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
Germany’s coach ended up calling for a change in rules for handball so that a penalty would be given if the shot was on target, so referees do not have to interpret if the handball was intentional or not.
“There are 50 robots that bring us coffee, so there must be an AI that calculates where the ball will go,” Julian Nagelsmann said; he resigned after Germany lost to Paraguay last week in the 2026 World Cup.
Taylor also took criticism from Italian fans after a Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla; Sevilla won on penalties
Video caught Taylor and his family being escorted away by security at Budapest airport after outraged Roma fans directed insults and threw chairs at him.
Roma largely blamed Taylor for its shootout loss. Former Roma coach Jose Mourinho lashed out at the referee in his post-match news conference and then was seen insulting Taylor with a series of expletives in the garage of the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, as his team prepared to depart the stadium. Mourinho was banned for four matches for abusing Taylor.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – MAY 31: The Referee Anthony Taylor of England shows a yellow card to Jose Mourinho Head coach of AS Roma during the UEFA Europa League 2022/23 final match between Sevilla FC and AS Roma at Puskas Arena on May 31, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
The English top-tier soccer referees’ association said in a statement that it “is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.
“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final. We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family,” the referees association added.
Roma general manager Tiago Pinto continued the attack on Taylor in a statement to Italian news agency ANSA.
“We at AS Roma don’t want to raise doubts about Sevilla’s merits. We believe that with our opponents we put on a great final and honored the stage offered to us by UEFA in the best way,” Pinto said. “We don’t usually comment immediately about these types of situations, but over the course of today we’ve analyzed both the most glaring incidents and those seemingly less evident, and it is clear that in disciplinary terms the refereeing of the match was not balanced.”
UEFA also fined Roma 50,000 euros ($55,000) and blocked the club from selling tickets for an away game in the Europa League.
There have been multiple officiating controversies to come out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
European soccer leaders criticized FIFA’s decision to let USMNT striker Falorin Balogun play after a questionable red card in the second half of their win over Bosnia. The Belgian soccer federation is now preparing to challenge the ruling before a FIFA-appointed appeals judge.
Two players have also been sent off with red cards for covering their mouths while confronting an opponent. FIFA established the new rule to prevent players from hiding abusive, discriminatory or offensive language while on the field.
There were also allegations of a video review official using a white supremacist gesture; the official said it was caused by a twitch and FIFA announced no rules were breached.
AP sports writers Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Ciaran Fahey in Berlin contributed.
Spain is led by teenage superstar Lamine Yamal.