Iván Barton to referee the France-Spain clash

The critical appointment ahead of the World Cup semifinal excitement has been announced. FIFA confirmed that Salvadoran referee Iván Barton will take charge of Tuesday's France-Spain clash, the first semifinal of the tournament. The huge encounter at Arlington's AT&T Stadium will be a historic moment for the 35-year-old official: Barton will go down in history as the first Salvadoran referee to officiate a World Cup semifinal.

The fixture will be the fourth match Barton takes charge of as head referee at the tournament. The Salvadoran official handled the Türkiye-Paraguay and Japan-Sweden matches in the group stage before overseeing the Round of 16 tie between Colombia and Switzerland, which went to penalties.

The Türkiye match handed Barton one of the most talked-about decisions of the tournament. He sent off Paraguay's Miguel Almirón, who covered his mouth while speaking during his argument with Mert Müldür, with a red card following a VAR review under the new rule introduced at this World Cup — becoming the first referee to apply it. Experiencing his first World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Barton accumulated top-level experience by officiating numerous finals in the Concacaf region.

In the refereeing team, David Morán and Antonio Pupiro will serve as Barton's assistants, while Sweden's Glenn Nyberg will be the fourth official. The equation on the pitch is clear: the winner will advance to Sunday's final, while the loser will contest Saturday's third-place match in Miami against the loser of the England-Argentina semifinal. At this summit meeting of the tournament, all eyes will be on the man with the whistle as much as the stars on the pitch.

Image: Sport