WORLD CUP 2022
Who is the referee for the France vs Morocco semi-final at World Cup 2022?
Pressure on FIFA, and all eyes on them as the refereeing in this cup has not been up to par.
The Mexican César Ramos has been appointed to whistle on Wednesday, in the second semifinal of the Qatar 2022 World Cup that France and Morocco will play at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
Who is César Ramos?
Ramos, 38, was born in Culiacán, Mexico, and has been an international referee since 2014. So far, he has been in three matches in the tournament: Denmark-Tunisia (0-0) and Belgium-Morocco (0-2) in the group stage, and Portugal-Switzerland (6-1) in the round of 16.
His assistant referees will be Alberto Morín and Miguel Hernández; the Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela will be the fourth official, and the video assistant referee (VAR) will be the Canadian Drew Fischer; the assistant VAR will be the Colombian Nicolás Gallo; the offside VAR will be the Brazilian Neuza Back; and the support VAR will be the American Armando Villarreal.
In the past 2018 World Cup in Russia, Ramos whistled three other matches: Brazil-Switzerland, Poland-Colombia, and Uruguay-Portugal.
Referees criticized during World Cup
Several referees at the Qatar World Cup have come in for serious criticism, which will only increase the pressure on Ramos heading into one of the biggest games of his career.
Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz was among those who were criticized during the quarter-finals. Mateu Lahoz is now set to leave Qatar after criticism from Lionel Messi and Frenkie de Jong after Argentina beat the Netherlands on penalties to advance to the semifinals.
Messi stated that Mateu Lahoz should not be allowed to officiate in a game as important as the one he played in.