The 2026 FIFA World Cup wraps up at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday at 2 p.m. when France plays Spain in the first Semifinal. The winner is headed to New York for the final. The loser will play in Miami on Saturday for third place. Refereeing has made headlines this tournament, including the quarterf inals. Switzerland was outraged after referee João Pinheiro reversed a yellow card decision in the second half against Argentina that ended up sending a Swiss player off instead – it’s a new rule FIFA calls “mistaken identity.” Norway was equally as outraged when Jude Bellingham’s equalizer for England was not overturned. Norway argued the ball hit an aerial camera cable in the lead-up, meaning play should have stopped, and a drop ball should have been utilized. FIFA disagreed, and England went on to win 2-1. FIFA announced Ivan Barton would be the lead referee for France-Spain. Barton was the first referee to issue a red card for mouth-covering to Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron last month. Paraguay held on to their 1-0 win over Turkiye despite playing a man down for the entire second half. Almiron later apologized to his team for the mistake. Two players in total have been sent off with red cards for covering their mouths while confronting an opponent. FIFA established the new rule to prevent players from hiding abusive, discriminatory, or offensive language while on the field. FIFA president Gianni Infantino pushed for the rule after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni tried to hide verbal insults toward Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior in a Champions League game. Almiron was also carded under the mistaken identity rule in the opening match against the USMNT after video review overturned a yellow card issued to Tim Ream. There have been multiple officiating controversies to come out of the 2026 World Cup. FIFA’s refereeing chief rejected claims of bias in Argentina’s win after Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match that there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament. European soccer leaders criticized FIFA’s decision to let USMNT striker Falorin Balogun play after a questionable red card in the second half of their win over Bosnia. There were also allegations of a video review official using a white supremacist gesture; the official said it was caused by a twitch, and FIFA announced no rules were breached. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less