Former World Cup final referee Mark Clattenburg has stated that an Italian official is likely to be selected to referee this year's tournament final, a decision he believes would "upset a lot of people" given FIFA's current leadership and recent controversies. Clattenburg made these remarks on the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Whistleblowers podcast.
The only Italian referee present at the tournament is Maurizio Mariani, 44, from Rome. Mariani has previously officiated matches including Saudi Arabia's draw with Uruguay, Colombia's win over DR Congo, and Brazil's victory over Japan in the round of 32.
Clattenburg highlighted that an Italian referee presiding over the final would mark the fourth instance since 1978, suggesting a pattern that could be perceived as unfair. He pointed to the significant influence of Italians in high-ranking refereeing positions within FIFA and UEFA, specifically mentioning Pierluigi Collina as chair of FIFA's referees committee and Roberto Rosetti heading refereeing at UEFA. Clattenburg's comments come as FIFA faces accusations of preferential treatment, referencing the suspension of a ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun after what was reported as a personal intervention by President Trump with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
"Infantino's Italian, Collina's Italian. Most of the power in the refereeing and wider football world is Italian," Clattenburg said on the podcast. "FIFA needs to keep everybody happy, all of the six confederations, and if you look at it, in 2010 the referee was English, in 2014 Italian, in 2018 Argentinian and in 2022 Polish. If we go Italian again, are we saying there's no other referees but Italian?"
While Clattenburg clarified that his criticism is not about Mariani's individual competence, but rather about the perception of fairness and the optics within FIFA, he expressed that another Italian appointment would be "a big shock." Infantino, though born in Switzerland, has Italian parents, a detail Clattenburg noted in his assessment of the situation.
World Cup Final Details
The World Cup Final is scheduled to take place on Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The match officials are expected to be announced after the semi-final matches, likely on Thursday.
Several high-profile referees remain in contention if their nations are eliminated from the tournament. These include Clement Turpin, who is set to officiate England's quarter-final against Norway, and Michael Oliver, appointed to Spain's match against Belgium. Anthony Taylor is also among the leading officials.
Clattenburg, who himself refereed the Euro 2016 final, stated, "It would upset a lot of people if we had another Italian referee. I am not saying an Italian doesn't deserve it, but there's an awful lot of talented referees that could referee that match."
The full discussion, which also analyzes Morocco's exit from the tournament, can be found on the Whistleblowers podcast, available on all major podcast platforms.