Mark Clattenburg has said an Italian referee is likely to be handed the 2026 World Cup final, and warned that the choice would upset a lot of people. Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Whistleblowers podcast, he said FIFA would face questions about fairness if it turned again to Italy for the game.
The former Premier League referee did not question Maurizio Mariani’s ability to take charge of a final. But he said the optics would be hard to ignore if an Italian official was selected, given the scale of the match and the scrutiny that comes with it. Clattenburg said he was hearing again that it could be an Italian referee, and added that if that happened this year it would be a big shock to him.
Mariani, 44, from Rome, is the only Italian referee at this year's World Cup and has already taken charge of three matches: Saudi Arabia’s draw with Uruguay, Colombia’s win over DR Congo and Brazil’s victory over Japan in the Round of 32. That record has put him at the center of the discussion around who FIFA may trust with the final in 2026.
The argument is not just about one official. Clattenburg said FIFA needs to keep everybody happy across all six confederations, and that there are plenty of talented referees who could handle the match. He also pointed to the influence of Italian figures in the game, noting that Pierluigi Collina chairs the FIFA Referees Committee and Roberto Rosetti heads UEFA's refereeing department.
That is where the friction sits. Clattenburg said he was not suggesting an Italian does not deserve the final, but he argued that appointing one would raise fairness and optics concerns at a time when the pool of candidates may already be narrowed by the presence of France, England and Argentina in the tournament, along with the rule that English officials cannot take Argentina matches and vice versa. An Italian would be the fourth referee from that nation to handle a World Cup final since 1978 if FIFA goes that way, but the appointment has not been made, and that leaves the question hanging over the biggest match in the sport.
