FIFA adds on‑site VAR officials for World Cup France‑Morocco quarter‑final

FIFA introduced a new VAR protocol for the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup after a wave of refereeing controversies. Starting with the France‑Morocco quarter‑final in Boston, a primary VAR official and a reserve VAR official will be stationed inside the stadium.

The on‑site officials are Uruguayan Leodán González (main VAR) and Nicaraguan Tatiana Guzmán (reserve). The central VAR hub remains at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas, Texas, and will be used only if the stadium connection fails. The same arrangement will be applied to all remaining matches.

The change follows criticism of earlier VAR decisions, notably the Argentina‑Egypt round‑of‑16 match, and is intended to prevent technical glitches that could interrupt play. The match’s refereeing team is led by Argentine referee Facundo Tello, assisted by Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade.