French referee Francois Letexier will take charge of the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain on Sunday.
The Berlin showpiece will be the fourth match at the tournament overseen by the 35-year-old, who has been an international referee since 2017.
Gareth Southgate‘s side booked a spot in their second European Championship final after a late victory against the Netherlands on Wednesday night, courtesy of Ollie Watkins‘ precise finish.
Spain secured their place in the final after beating France by the same scoreline on Tuesday.
Letexier will be joined at Sunday’s final by French assistants Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni, while Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will be fourth official.
Last December, Letexier was accused by then Stade de Reims manager Will Still of making an ‘inappropriate’ comment about the Englishman’s prospective move to Sunderland.
It came after reports emerged that Still was on the Black Cats’ shortlist of managers to take over from Tony Mowbray who had been sacked by the club earlier that month.
The 31-year-old reportedly approached the referee to voice his concerns over how the game was officiated. During their conversation, Letexier had allegedly stated: ‘Don’t worry, it [the refereeing] will be better in England.’
‘I found it funny, or not funny at all,’ Still said. ‘He said something like, “It will be better in England.”
‘I didn’t find it very appropriate, but it’s not a story, it’s not interesting.’
Letexier subsequently pushed back on Still’s account and claimed that manager may have misinterpreted him.
When contacted by L’Equipe, the official said on the claims: ‘At the end of the match, I simply said, “Maybe best of luck in England”.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
