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England's opening FIFA World Cup 2026 match against Croatia on Wednesday will be officiated by French referee Clement Turpin, who was once described as "Grade E" by England coach Thomas Tuchel, according to Reuters.
Turpin had previously sent Tuchel, then Bayern Munich manager, to the stands during a 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the second leg of the 2023 Champions League quarter-final after issuing him two yellow cards for dissent. Turpin handed out five yellow cards in the first half and initially sent Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano off with a straight red card, which was later overturned after a VAR review. Manchester City went on to win the tie 4-1 on aggregate. After the match, Tuchel said that both the pitch conditions and the referee's performance were below the required standard, describing Turpin as "Grade E". "Two things couldn't keep up with the level, the pitch wasn't in good condition and also the referee, unfortunately, was Grade E," Tuchel had said after the match, as quoted by Reuters. Tuchel strongly criticised Turpin's performance, rating him very poorly and saying he was inconsistent and frequently penalised Bayern. He added that the officiating left his team at a major disadvantage and made it impossible to recover in the match. "I'd give him a one out of 10. He was absolutely terrible. It's unbelievable at this level. He was whistling for everything and anything. Everything was against us. In the end, we were never in a position to turn things around with three men against us. That's a fact," Tuchel had said further. England will face Croatia at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (ANI)
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