Michael Oliver pulled from taking charge of World Cup match hours before kick-off as statement issued

Michael Oliver will miss his first match of the 2026 World Cup after he suffered an injury.

The experienced Premier League referee had been selected to take charge of the World Cup meeting between the Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Philadelphia in the early hours of Monday morning.

However, the 41-year-old has now been forced to drop out of the match after he suffered an unspecified injury that will keep him sidelined for the first round of matches.

The setback is only believed to be minor, so Oliver could take charge of another match next week if he has recovered in time.

He will be replaced by Ligue 1 referee Francois Letexier, who most recently officiated the Europa League final when Aston Villa thumped Freiburg 3-0 last month.

A Fifa statement read: “Appointment change: Due to a minor injury, referee Michael Oliver (ENG) has been replaced by Francois Letexier (FRA).

“Oliver is expected to be available for selection again in the coming days.”

The Premier League referee had been due to officiate the opening match of Group E alongside assistant Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring. Oliver's injury means the entire referee team must be changed, with Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni selected to assist Letexier. Saudi duo Khalid Alturais and Mohammed Alabakrv keep their place as fourth official and reserve assistant.

Oliver has previously officiated three World Cup matches, all of which took place at Qatar 2022, including the quarter-final between Croatia and Brazil. He is one of six English officials at the World Cup in North America this summer, with Anthony Taylor also among the 52 referees.

The English referee has taken charge of matches in the Premier League since 2010 and was promoted to UEFA's elite list of referees in 2018. He has also taken charge of two FA Cup finals during his officiating career.

It is understood Oliver earned roughly £250,000 for his refereeing services across all competitions last season. He is in line for another handsome pay packet this summer, with £75,000 on offer to any referee who stays until the end of the competition.

Michael Oliver is banned from refereeing two teams 'for obvious reasons'

Oliver is a lifelong Newcastle United supporter and cannot officiate any matches they are involved in. He also played for the club at junior level, revealing in 2019 that he "had a bit of talent" but "didn't like putting the hard work in as a player".

As a result of supporting Newcastle, Oliver also cannot officiate any games involving their firce local rivals Sunderland.

"We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club," he told the Daily Mail. "You can't do any match involving that team, and I can't do Sunderland, either, for obvious reasons."

Oliver added: "If Newcastle needed a point to survive and the team they were fighting to get above was, say, Villa, I couldn't referee Villa's game either. I wouldn't want to. It's not worth the hassle."