Anthony Taylor was BLOCKED from refereeing the World Cup final, according to stunning reports.
Poland's Szymon Marciniak will oversee Sunday's showpiece event between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium.
Marciniak beat Holland’s Danny Makkelie and Brazil's Wilton Sampaio, who made controversial decisions in England's quarter-final defeat to France.
Premier League referee Taylor was never in contention to land the match over concerns of an English official officiating an Argentina game.
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The Times reports that English referees have been barred from taking charge of matches featuring Argentina due to fears of bias around the Falkland Islands.
Taylor was kept on in Qatar when other English referees were sent home, including Michael Oliver.
But the referee from Greater Manchester was not given another match to referee or to be the fourth official.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA's chairman of referees, is believed to be a big fan of Taylor's game-management skills.
He was thought to be a genuine contender to land the World Cup final until Argentina beat Croatia. He's not been involved in a knockout match at the tournament.
FIFA value the importance of neutrality among officials and it is thought that Argentinian referees would also have been barred from England games.
Taylor took charge of Belgium's goalless draw with Croatia and Ghana's 3-2 win over South Korea in the group stage round.
Had Taylor landed the World Cup final, he would have been the first English referee to do so since 2010, when Howard Webb officiated Spain vs. Netherlands.
But he's lost out to Marciniak who will be joined by fellow Polish officials Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz as assistant referees.
The 41-year-old is the first Poland native to be handed the job of refereeing the World Cup final.
He also became the first Polish referee to officiate a major European semi-final, having overseen Liverpool's victory over Villarreal in the Champions League.
Topics: Argentina, England, Football World Cup, Football
Nasir Jabbar