SFA left red-faced as zero Scottish officials selected for World Cup out of 170

Martin Macdonald

• 11 Apr 2026 06:30 CDT
• 2 min read

News

No Scottish officials have been determined to be of the desired quality to take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer.

This week, FIFA confirmed which officials from football associations around the world would be acting as referees, assistant referees, fourth officials and VAR officials across North America.

Not Scot was selected, which means it has been 10 years since the Scottish Football Association has had an official at a major tournament. At Euro 2026, Francis Connor, Bobby Madden, John Beaton and Irishman Damien MacGraith were part of the SFA contingent along with Willie Collum, who is now in charge of refereeing standards in the country.

There are currently nine referees from the SFA on FIFA's international officials list and none have been selected.

Fifty-two referees, 88 assistants and 50 match officials have been confirmed for the tournament, hailing from all six confederations and 50 countries.

Embarrassingly for the SFA, FIFA has confirmed that "quality" was the main factor to determine which officials were selected.

FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina said: “The selected match officials are the very best in the world.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years.

“They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments. In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.

“The selected officials have received, and will continue to receive, comprehensive support from our fitness coaches and medical staff, including physiotherapists and a mental specialist.

“Our goal is to ensure that they’re in optimal physical and mental condition when they arrive in Miami on 31 May."

To highlight the snub even more, the World Cup has been expanded by 16 extra teams which means dozens more matches.

“This year’s FIFA World Cup will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be contested across the most extensive geographical footprint in the tournament’s history,” Collina added.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing.

“As at previous World Cups, technology will play an important role in supporting match officials in their decision-making.

“Goal-line technology, an advanced version of semi-automated offside technology and connected ball technology will be used, while for the first time in World Cup history, fans will be able to see things from the referee’s on-field perspective thanks to the use of new technologies.”

Scotland head into their first World Cup in nearly two decades hoping to reach the knockout stage for the first time. Steve Clarke's men find themselves in a group alongside Haiti, Morocco and five-time world champions, Brazil.

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