England fans have reacted furiously to the news that Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio could referee the World Cup final.
Sampaio took charge of England's quarter-final defeat to France on Saturday night. He was heavily criticised for his performance after the game.
English official Michael Oliver has been sent home by FIFA. However, compatriot Anthony Taylor could still referee the final.
Oliver was the man in the middle as Brazil were knocked out by Croatia. Brazilian fans were not happy with his performance so saw Sampaio's efforts on Saturday night as revenge.
Sampaio awarded two penalties to England during the game. Despite this he was criticised for his inconsistency.
FIFA revealed their list of retained referees on Monday and England fans reacted angrily.
England fans react to possibilty of Brazilian official taking charge of World Cup final
One described Sampaio as a "Brazilian clown". Another branded the decision to keep him on as "unfathomable."
How is that Brazilian clown staying 😳🤷♂️🙈 https://t.co/WcIHieWTgQ
— GBP (@gazpne) December 12, 2022
Unfathomable how Sampaio stays but Oliver is released. https://t.co/Sf93IDZoRO
— MJB (@rochdalescouser) December 12, 2022
bruv this guy was shocking. does not deserve the final.
All my qualms with how england set themselves up to fail.... doesn't mean the ref didn't fix it for france. really biased display https://t.co/9NlroJuiH8— AH (@LehmannsTerms_) December 12, 2022
Seems fair to me that Sampaio shouldn't go home until France do. In it together https://t.co/ZzyKVP6wpS
— Jon Rest (@jonrest) December 12, 2022
What a joke. https://t.co/PdvbjR01lW
— Jon (@Melbourne_MUFC2) December 12, 2022
England fans were aggrieved that France's first goal stood. They felt that Bukayo Saka was fouled in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni's superb opener.
Harry Maguire hit out at Sampaio's performance describing it as "very poor". He added that "he (Sampaoi) never gave us anything."
Gary Neville was also critical saying that the referee had a "shocker."
"I thought he was awful. That is not me blaming the referee for England being out, by the way, I just thought he was absolutely awful. I don't actually say that anymore. I used to when I played. But it is rare now," Neville told Sky Sports.
"I thought he was a shocker. We were sat right there in that corner where the penalty was with Harry Kane in the first half. It felt like we were on top of it. There were three or four fouls in that area of the pitch in the first half where you were thinking, 'How has that not been given?'. It was weird.
"Even the penalty that was given against Theo Hernandez was not given on the pitch. Don't overthink that. It was a blatant foul, that. The referee was so bad."
France, who won 2-1, thanks to Olivier Giroud's winner. They will now play Morocco on Wednesday. The other semi-final sees Argentina take on Croatia on Tuesday.
England fans will be hoping Sampaoi plays no further part in the tournament.
SEE ALSO: Gio Reyna Won A Tight Vote Not To Be Sent Home From The World Cup After Poor Behaviour
