Clement Turpin, the referee for England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday night, has been slammed by Thomas Tuchel in the past.
The Three Lions take on the Vikings in Miami at 10pm BST tonight, aiming to reach the World Cup semi-finals for only the fourth time in their history.
The journey to this stage has been tough and after Jarell Quansah received a two-game ban after his red card against Mexico, Tuchel will be hoping for a nice clean game.
To referee this huge clash, FIFA have appointed Turpin, who was also in charge of England’s opening game of the tournament when they beat Croatia 4-2.
Exclusive analysis of England v Norway
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This will be the Frenchman’s fourth match of these finals after also officiating Paraguay’s goalless draw with Australia and Colombia’s 1-0 win over Ghana.
The 44-year-old is a vastly experienced official, with this his third World Cup, having reffed games in Russia and Qatar.
The peak of his career in club football so far has been taking charge of the 2022 Champions League final when Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0. He has regularly overseen some of the biggest fixtures in European football in recent years.
He’s a respected referee, but Tuchel was far from impressed with his performance back in April 2023 when his Bayern Munich side faced Manchester City in the Champions League.
Turpin was in charge of the second leg of the quarter-final which finished 1-1, giving City a 4-1 win on aggregate, and to make matters worse, Tuchel was shown two yellow cards by the referee.
Post-match, the German manager did not hold back, saying: ‘Two things couldn’t keep up with the level — the pitch wasn’t in good condition and also the referee, unfortunately, was Grade E.
Norway vs England match officials
Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos (FRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pages (FRA)
Fourth Official: Alejandro Hernandez (ESP)
Reserve Assistant Referee: Jose Enrique Naranjo (ESP)
VAR: Jerome Brisard (FRA)
Assistant VAR: Armando Villarreal (USA)
Support VAR: Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP)
‘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.’
Prior to the Croatia game, Tuchel had not forgotten his previous encounter with Turpin but did call him a ‘top referee’.
It is acknowledged that Turpin had a good game in Dallas, correctly awarding a penalty to England after Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke, and allowing Harry Kane to retake it after Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic came off his line too early.
But overall, Tuchel has been far from happy with the standard of officiating at the 2026 World Cup, saying after the Mexico win that: ‘The referees are just not good enough.’
Turpin has shown seven yellow cards in his three games at this tournament, while four England players will miss the potential semi-final against either Argentina or Switzerland if they are booked tonight.
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