The El Salvador referee who will decide who reaches the final between France and Spain
FIFA has appointed Salvadoran Ivan Barton to referee Tuesday's semifinal between France and Spain in Dallas. Get to know his track record at this World Cup.
A World Cup semifinal between France and Spain would be massive on its own. Now imagine the man with the whistle comes from El Salvador.
FIFA has confirmed that Ivan Barton will referee Tuesday's clash, kicking off at 16:00 (Brasília time) at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Alongside him will be fellow Salvadorans David Moran as assistant and Nicaraguan Antonio Pupiro. Sweden's Glenn Nyberg rounds out the quartet as fourth official. The VAR team, as usual, will only be revealed minutes before kick-off.
This is far from Barton's first time on the big stage. This is already his second World Cup — at Qatar 2022 he took charge of three matches, including Brazil 1–0 Switzerland and Germany 1–2 Japan. At this tournament he has already handled four games: he came through the group stage and the round of 16, where he oversaw the dramatic penalty shootout between Switzerland and Colombia.
On the teams' side, the numbers from Golmetria's model paint a clear picture: Spain arrive as favourites, with a 35% chance of lifting the trophy, against France's 14%. But a semifinal is a semifinal — and the French have already shown they know how to turn things around when least expected.
Whoever advances will face the winner of Argentina vs England, who meet on Wednesday in Miami. The final is set for Sunday in New Jersey.
One thing is certain: at 16:00 this Tuesday, Ivan Barton will have one of the heaviest games of the entire World Cup in his hands. El Salvador have never come close to a semifinal — but their referee is about to decide who gets there.