Viral referee Ivan Barton handed France v Spain World Cup semi-final

Ivan Barton, the Salvadoran referee who became an unlikely internet sensation earlier in the tournament, has been appointed by FIFA to take charge of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final between France and Spain in Dallas.

The 35-year-old, born in Santa Ana, El Salvador’s second city, is one of CONCACAF’s most senior officials and made his World Cup debut at Qatar 2022. Away from football, Barton previously worked as a professor of organic chemistry after completing a degree in chemical sciences.

He has taken charge of three matches at this year’s finals, including the group-stage meeting between Paraguay and Turkey in which he became the first referee at a men’s World Cup to send off a player for covering his mouth while confronting an opponent. Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron was dismissed after a VAR review, and Barton’s animated on-pitch delivery of the decision – “after review, number 10, Paraguay, cover his mouth, decision is red card” – quickly went viral among supporters.

Barton also officiated the last-16 tie between Colombia and Switzerland, which Switzerland won on penalties. He has a reputation as a firm disciplinarian, having shown four red cards during a 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semi-final between the United States and Mexico, a game he halted early after homophobic chanting from the stands.

A heavyweight European collision

Barton’s appointment comes for a mouthwatering last-four tie between two of Europe’s traditional powerhouses. France reached this stage with a 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco, while Spain progressed thanks to a late Mikel Merino strike – the Arsenal midfielder pouncing on a mistake by goalkeeper Senne Lammens – to see off Belgium 2-1.

France, who reached the final at the last two World Cups, would become only the third nation in history to contest three consecutive finals if they win in Texas, following West Germany (1982, 1986, 1990) and Brazil (1994, 1998, 2002). Spain, by contrast, are back in the semi-finals for the first time since they won the tournament in 2010.

Didier Deschamps, who is standing down as France head coach at the end of the tournament after 14 years in the job, described the tie as likely to be “spectacular” and named Spain as favourites given they have conceded just once in six games so far.

“The past is in the past,” said Deschamps, referencing Spain’s wins over France at Euro 2024 and in last year’s Nations League. “We are now at another level. We want to be in the final.”

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente played down the tag of favourites. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “We are two great national teams facing one another. Whether we are favourites or not doesn’t mean further pressure for us. We have that pressure anyway because we want to do well for our country.”

Kick-off in Dallas

The semi-final kicks off at 20:00 BST in Dallas, with Barton’s whistle again likely to draw plenty of attention given his newfound profile among supporters worldwide.

Sources

• The Independent
• Evening Standard
• BBC Sport

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.