Clattenburg: Mariani officiating 2026 World Cup Final 'would upset people'

Italian referee Maurizio Mariani is the favourite to officiate the 2026 World Cup Final, although pundit Mark Clattenburg claims the decision ‘would upset a lot of people.’

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, but did send a team of officials led by Mariani.

Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Whistleblowers podcast, Premier League refereeing expert Clattenburg claimed that the biggest job in world football will likely go to Mariani.

Mariani expected for 2026 World Cup Final MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 15: Referee Maurizio Mariani (C) walks out of the tunnel with match officials for warm ups before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay at Miami Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) The 44-year-old already officiated the 2025-26 edition of the Conference League Final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano , as well as the 2025 Under-20 World Cup Final that saw Morocco beat Argentina.

In this World Cup, Mariani was wielding the whistle for Saudi Arabia’s draw with Uruguay, Colombia’s victory over DR Congo, and most notably Brazil beating Japan in the Round of 32.

However, Clattenburg insists it would be a controversial choice because Italians have already officiated three World Cup Finals since 1978.

Italians are highly critical of their own referees, yet they are still considered the best in the business, as seen by Pierluigi Collina’s role as the chair of FIFA’s referees committee, and Roberto Rosetti having the UEFA equivalent position.

“I am hearing again that it could be an Italian referee,” said Clattenburg on the podcast.

“Infantino’s Italian, Collina’s Italian. Most of the power in the refereeing and wider football world is Italian.”

This is not true, because FIFA President Gianni Infantino is from Switzerland, although his parents did have Italian origins.

“FIFA needs to keep everybody happy, all of the six confederations, and if you look at it, in 2010 the referee was English, in 2014 Italian, in 2018 Argentinian and in 2022 Polish. If we go Italian again, are we saying there’s no other referees but Italian?” added Clattenburg.

“If this year an Italian referee gets the chance again, bearing in mind what’s happened with FIFA at this tournament, it would be a big shock to me.”

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 10: Referee Maurizio Mariani gestures during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on November 10, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) The other issue of course is that the referees in the final stages cannot be from any of the countries in the running for the trophy, so as Italy failed to qualify, it would make them the logical choice for the Final.

“It would upset a lot of people if we had another Italian referee,” added Clattenburg, who refereed the EURO 2016 Final.

“I am not saying an Italian doesn’t deserve it, but there’s an awful lot of talented referees that could referee that match.”