EUROPEAN REFEREES HANDLING COLOMBIA AND GHANA GAMES AT THE FIFA WORLD CUP

By: Isaac Amponsah (Dr Ike) 

• The Colombia and Ghana fixture will be the first time a referee from France will officiate a Colombia game at the FIFA World Cup since their debut in 1962. 

• Sixteen (16) European Referees have officiated Colombia games at the FIFA World Cup (W9 D1 L6 GF24 GA15):

• May 30, 1962 (Group Stage) [1962 World Cup]
Venue: Estadio Carlos Dittborn, Arica 
Uruguay                        2-1 Colombia 
Referee: Andor Dorogi (Hungary)

• June 9, 1990 (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna 
United Arab Emirates 0-2 Colombia 
Referee: George Courtney (England)

• June 14, 1990 (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna 
Yugoslavia                    1-0 Colombia 
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)

• June 19, 1990 (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: San Siro, Milan 
West Germany             1-1 Colombia 
Referee: Alan Gordon Snoddy (Northern Ireland)

• June 23, 1990 (Round of 16) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: Stadio San Paolo, Naples 
Cameroon                    2-1 Colombia 
Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)

• June 22, 1994 (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena 
United States               2-1 Colombia 
Referee: Fabio Baldas (Italy)

• June 26, 1994 (Group Stage) [1994 World Cup]
Venue: Stanford Stadium 
Switzerland                  0-2 Colombia 
Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

• June 22, 1998 (Group Stage) [1998 World Cup]
Venue: Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier 
Colombia                      1-0 Tunisia 
Referee: Bernd Reinhold Heynemann (Germany)

• June 19, 2014 (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
Venue: Estádio Nacional Mane Garrincha, Brasília
Colombia                      2-1 Ivory Coast 
Referee: Howard Webb (England)

• June 24, 2014 (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
Venue: Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba
Japan                            1-4 Colombia 
Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal)

• June 28, 2014 (Round of 16) [2014 World Cup]
Venue: Estádio do Maracanã
Colombia                      2-0 Uruguay 
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)

• July 5, 2014 (Quarter-finals) [2014 World Cup]
Venue: Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza
Brazil                             2-1 Colombia 
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)

• June 19, 2018 (Group Stage) [2018 World Cup]
Venue: Mordovia Arena, Saransk
Colombia                      1-2 Japan 
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

• June 28, 2018 (Group Stage)
Venue: Cosmos Arena, Samara 
Senegal                         0-1 Colombia 
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia)

• June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 FIFA World Cup]
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City 
Uzbekistan                   1-3 Colombia 
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

• June 23, 2026 (Group Stage)
Venue: Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Colombia                      1-0 DR Congo 
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)

• Colombia have failed to score in only 1 out of 16 previous FIFA World Cup matches officiated by a European referee since 1962.
June 14, 1990 (Group Stage) [1990 World Cup]
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna 
Yugoslavia                    1-0 Colombia 
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)

• This fixture will be the first time a referee from France will officiate a Black Stars of Ghana game at the FIFA World Cup since their maiden participation in 2006.
 
• Nine (9) Referees from Europe have officiated Ghana games at the FIFA World Cup since 2006, with a record of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.

• June 22, 2006 (Group Stage) [2006 World Cup]
Venue: Frankenstadion, Nuremberg 
Ghana                            2-1 United States 
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

• June 27, 2006 (Round of 16)
Venue: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund 
Brazil                             3-0 Ghana 
Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)

• June 13, 2010 (Group Stage)
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Ghana                            1-1 Australia 
Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)

• June 26, 2010 (Round of 16) [2010 World Cup]
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg 
United States               1-2 Ghana a e.t.
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

• July 2, 2010 (Quarter-finals) [2010 World Cup]
Venue: Soccer City, Johannesburg 
Uruguay                        1-1 Ghana a e.t. (4-2p)
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

• June 16, 2014 (Group Stage) [2014 World Cup]
Venue: Arena das Dunas, Natal 
Ghana                            1-2 United States 
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

• November 28, 2022 (Group Stage)
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar 
South Korea                 2-3 Ghana 
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

• December 2, 2022 (Group Stage) [2022 World Cup]
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar 
Ghana                            0-2 Uruguay 
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany) 

• June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Toronto Stadium, Canada 
Ghana                            1-0 Panama 
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

• Apart from Ghana's 1-0 win over Panama is the only game officiated by a European referee that the Black Stars did not concede.
June 17, 2026 (Group Stage) [2026 World Cup]
Venue: Toronto Stadium, Canada 
Ghana                            1-0 Panama 
Caleb Yirenkyi 90+5'
Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

• On Saturday, July 4, 2026, a European referee from France, Clement Turpin, will officiate the Colombia and Ghana Round of 32 fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Kansas City Stadium in the USA.