Tantashev sent home by FIFA after catastrophic performance in France-Paraguay

Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev has been removed from the 2026 World Cup by FIFA following his direction of the round-of-16 match between France and Paraguay, played in Philadelphia. His handling of the match drew sharp criticism from several experts, who accused him of allowing Paraguayan players to engage in unsporting behavior without sanctions.

Former English international referee Keith Hackett was the first to announce Tantashev’s removal. “He will not officiate again in this World Cup,” he said after what he described as a “very poor performance.” “He failed to detect Paraguay’s time-wasting tactics or sanction the behavior of several players. Paraguay’s strategy clearly aimed to reduce effective playing time. Unfortunately, overly lenient refereeing did not stop these practices.”

Hackett highlighted two particularly questionable decisions. In the 38th minute, Tantashev issued a yellow card to Frenchman Bradley Barcola for an alleged dangerous foul on Juan José Caceres, when replays revealed no contact between the two players. At the same time, a Paraguayan player illegally used his arm against Kylian Mbappé in full view of the referee, without any sanction being issued.

Former German referee Patrick Ittrich agreed, delivering an even harsher judgment. “This is the worst performance of this World Cup,” he said bluntly, adding: “He can pack his bags and go home.”

Tantashev had previously officiated in the tournament during Morocco-Scotland and Algeria-Austria without generating comparable controversy. His removal illustrates FIFA’s zero-tolerance policy for refereeing deemed insufficient at this stage of the competition.