World Cup Semifinal Referee: Who's Officiating France vs. Spain?

Tuesday's semifinal between France and Spain at AT&T Stadium will be overseen by a refereeing team from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Sweden. Leading the crew is Ivan Barton from El Salvador, a figure well known at this World Cup for his strict approach, especially when handing out red cards.

Officials Assigned

• Referee: Ivan Barton (El Salvador)
• Assistant referees: David Moran (El Salvador), Antonio Pupiro (Nicaragua)
• 4th official: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)
• Reserve assistant referee: Mahbod Beigi (Sweden)
• VAR: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)
• Assistant VARs: Dennis Higler (Netherlands), Guillermo Pacheco (Mexico)

About Ivan Barton

At 35, Barton stands as one of CONCACAF’s prominent referees. He rose through the ranks officiating in El Salvador’s top division, La Liga Mayor, and earned his FIFA badge in 2018. Since then, he has worked various international competitions including the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, U-17 World Cup, and the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League final. He also took charge during the 2022 Qatar World Cup and will continue into 2026.

Barton’s style has sparked debate. In the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, he issued four red cards during the match between Mexico and the U.S. He ended that game early due to homophobic chants from the crowd. He also controversially sent off Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron in the group stage after video showed Almiron covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent.

“Just when you thought the semifinals couldn’t get any better, they have put the most entertaining referee from the World Cup on one of them!” — Sleeper Football (@SleeperFooty)

Fans expect Barton to make headlines again during this semifinal clash between two football giants. The referee's involvement adds another layer of intrigue to what already promises to be a memorable encounter.