England vs Croatia opener to be refereed by Clement Turpin

England will begin its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday, June 17, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with the match to be officiated by French referee Clément Turpin. The assignment has drawn attention due to Turpin's past contentious encounters with England manager Thomas Tuchel and midfielder Jude Bellingham.

Turpin sent off Tuchel, then the Bayern Munich manager, during a Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City in April 2023. After showing Tuchel two yellow cards for protesting, Turpin issued five bookings in the first half and initially gave a red card to Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano, a decision later overturned by VAR. Following the match, which ended 1-1, Tuchel heavily criticized the official, labeling his performance "Grade E" and giving him a rating of one out of ten. Tuchel said the referee was "absolutely terrible" and claimed everything seemed to be against his team.

Turpin also had a notable on-field interaction with England star Jude Bellingham during a 2024 Champions League semi-final. The referee pushed Bellingham away from the penalty area as the Real Madrid player attempted to distract Bayern Munich's...