Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: England, Serbia, Thomas Tuchel, Football
Josh Lawless
The referee for England's trip to Serbia has been labelled a "grade E" referee by manager Thomas Tuchel after he sent him off in the past.
Tuchel's men look to make it five wins from five in World Cup qualifying when they travel to Belgrade on Tuesday night, following on from a 2-0 win over Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday.
The officials for the game at Rajko Mitic Stadium were confirmed on Sunday, with Clement Turpin of France appointed the referee for the clash.
He is accompanied by assistants, Nicholls Dano and Benjamin Page, fourth official Stephanie Frappart and Willy Delageau and Jeremy Pinard on VAR duties.
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Turpin has been a UEFA Elite Group referee since 2012 and a regular at competitions like the Champions League and European Championships, as well as refereeing at the revamped Club World Cup.
But Tuchel was not complimentary of his performance when he officiated his Bayern Munich side in 2023.
Turpin was the man in the middle when Manchester City knocked Bayern out of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage with a 4-1 aggregate win.
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City won 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium before drawing 1-1 at the Allianz Arena on the way to winning a historic treble.
Turpin handed out five yellow cards and also showed red to Dayot Upamecano, though the dismissal was reversed as Erling Haaland was offside prior to being fouled when running through.
"Two things couldn't keep up with the level: the pitch wasn't in a good condition and also the referee unfortunately was grade E," Tuchel said after the match.
Turpin had earlier delayed kick-off for the clash due to a faulty earpiece, and it was not just Tuchel who was annoyed by the Frenchman's officiating in Munich.
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Rio Ferdinand, who was working for BT Sport, claimed that Turpin was making the clash “about him” rather than letting the game flow.
“I've not liked the ref today, not my cup of tea,” Ferdinand said.
“He wants it to be more about him than the game,” he added.
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Co-commentator and former City defender Joleon Lescott took a similar stance to Ferdinand and explained how it appeared that the referee wanted more "attention than needed this half" after "coming out late".
And despite the question marks surrounding his 2023 performance, Turpin has continued to referee high-profile games including last season's Europa League final between Manchester United and Spurs in Bilbao.