François Letexier
Letexier in 2026
Born (1989-04-23) 23 April 1989 (age 37)
Bédée, France
Domestic
Years League Role
2015– Ligue 2 Referee
2016– Ligue 1 Referee
International
Years League Role
2017– FIFA listed Referee

François Letexier[a] (born 23 April 1989) is a French football referee who officiates in Ligue 1. He has been a FIFA referee since 2017 and is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.

Early life and personal life

François Letexier was born on 23 April 1989 in the Bédée commune of Brittany, France.[1][2] He is a trained lawyer with legal expertise in rental disputes and illegal occupation.[3] He also works as a court bailiff part-time.[4][5][6]

Letexier is married and a father of two sons.[7][6]

Refereeing career

In January 2016, Letexier began officiating in Ligue 1.[2] His first match as referee was on 23 January 2016 between Montpellier and Caen.[8] He was put on the FIFA referees list in 2017,[2] and he officiated his first senior international match the following year between Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[citation needed] As a UEFA elite category referee, Letexier has officiated in every major club and international-level tournaments.[2]

He officiated the 2019 UEFA Youth League final between Porto and Chelsea;[9] the 2021 Coupe de France final between Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain;[9] and, as VAR, he officiated the 2021 UEFA Europa League final between Villarreal and Manchester United.[9] He refereed three matches of the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship (including the quarter-final between Portugal and Italy).[9]

On 20 August 2022, Letexier refereed a Ligue 2 match between Saint-Étienne and Le Havre, issuing red cards to three Saint-Etienne players (Anthony Briançon, Mathieu Cafaro and Etienne Green) and a member of the Saint-Etienne staff.[10]

On 16 August 2023, he was the referee for the 2023 UEFA Super Cup between Manchester City and Sevilla.[11]

On 9 April 2024, he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal knockout tie between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which finished 3-3.[12]

In the same month, Letexier was selected to officiate at the Men's Olympic Games football tournament in Paris.[13] Weeks later, he was also selected to officiate at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany.[14][15]

In May 2024, he officiated the Olympic intercontinental play-off between Indonesia and Guinea, qualifying the latter for the Olympics for the first time since 1968. He sent off Indonesia's then-coach Shin Tae-yong, who argued with Letexier's decision to award Guinea a second penalty.[16] In the same month, he was appointed by UEFA as the fourth official for UEFA Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.[17] He also refereed the 2024 Coupe de France final between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain.[18]

He was also recruited for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament and refereed two group matches between Croatia and Albania (Group B) and between Denmark and Serbia (Group C), and then refereed one match in the Round of 16 between Spain and Georgia. Letexier was then selected on 11 July 2024 to officiate the UEFA Euro 2024 final between Spain and England on 14 July. At the age of 35, Letexier became the youngest referee to take charge of a UEFA Euro Final,[19] beating the previous record of Swedish official Anders Frisk, who was 37 years old when he refereed the UEFA Euro 2000 final.[20]

10 days after the Euro 2024 final, Letexier was assigned the opening round Group D pool match between Japan and Paraguay at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[21]

In April 2025, he refereed the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Real Madrid and Arsenal.[22] Next month, Letexier took charge of the final of the 2025 UAE President's Cup between Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli.[citation needed]

Letexier was selected to officiate at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, where he took charge of a group stage match between Benfica and Bayern Munich, the Brazilian rivalry between Palmeiras and Botafogo in the round of 16 and a semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense.[23]

On 12 January 2026, Letexier officiated his first match in Saudi Arabia when he took charge of the Riyadh derby between Al-Hilal and Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.[24]

On 11 May 2026, UEFA announced Letexier would officiate the 2026 UEFA Europa League final between SC Freiburg and Aston Villa on 20 May.[25]

Ligue 1 matches

On 23 October 2022, Letexier was the subject of scutiny during the Week 12 Ligue 1 match between Nice and Nantes on 19 October.[2] In the 19th minute, he did not award a penalty to Nantes when the ball hit both of Mattia Viti's arms. Near the end of the match, he awarded a penalty to Nice when the ball hit Jean-Charles Castelletto's arm. Letexier showed red cards to Nantes' Kader Bamba and their goalkeeper Alban Lafont, who received a second yellow card after the match ended.[citation needed] Days later, after receiving death threats on social media, Letexier defended his decisions in an interview with L'Équipe.[26]

On 27 October 2024, Letexier was at the centre of attention during a Ligue 1 match between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain when he sent off Marseille's Amine Harit for his foul on PSG's Marquinhos. After Letexier's decision to send Harit off caused backlash online, Letexer defended the decision, explaining that he felt that Harit's action put Marquinhos' physical integrity at risk.[27]

2026 FIFA World Cup

Groups E and H

Further information: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E and 2026 FIFA World Cup Group H

Michael Oliver was originally appointed to the match between Ivory Coast and Ecuador, but he pulled out due to a minor injury and was subsequently replaced by Letexier.[28][29] On 27 June, Letexier refereed another match, this time between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.[30]

Knockout stage

Further information: Argentina–Egypt controversy at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

On 7 July 2026, Letexier officiated the 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt.[31] During the match, he overturned an Egyptian goal when a foul on Lisandro Martínez was committed.[32] His officiating decisions were strongly criticized by the Egyptian team following the match.[33] Egyptian left winger Mostafa Ziko, who had an apparent goal disallowed by Letexier, claimed the refereeing was "not fair" and "rigged",[34] while Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan criticized Letexier, claiming he had displayed favoritism towards Argentina.[33] In response, Letexier deactivated his Instagram account.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa lətɛksje]

References

  1. ^ "Football : François Letexier, l'arbitre pressé" [Football: François Letexier, the referee in a hurry.] (in French). Le Point. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hall, Andy (7 July 2026). "Who is François Letexier, the referee for Argentina vs Egypt in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup?". AS USA.
  3. ^ "François Letexier - Commissaire de Justice (anciennement Huissier de Justice) Rennes 35". www.nedellec-associes.com. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  4. ^ "Super Cup referee Letexier moves forward". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. ^ "EURO 2024 final referee Letexier primed for action". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Consistency key for UEFA Europa League final referee François Letexier". 18 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  7. ^ UEFA.com. "EURO 2024 final referee Letexier primed for action | UEFA EURO 2024". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
  8. ^ "France » Ligue 1 2015/2016 » 22. Round » Montpellier HSC – SM Caen 1:2". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Super Cup referee Letexier moves forward". Uefa.com. UEFA. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  10. ^ "Eight-man Saint-Etienne smashed in club-record loss". Be In Sports. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Manchester City v Sevilla – Match info". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Real Madrid v Manchester City – Match info". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  13. ^ "FIFA match officials appointed for Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  14. ^ "2024 FIFA Men's and Women's Olympic Football Tournaments - Selected officials". law5-theref.blogspot.com. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Referee teams for UEFA EURO 2024 appointed". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Guinea beat Indonesia 1-0 in the AFC-CAF Play-off to claim final men's Olympic football quota". International Olympic Committee. 9 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Referee teams for 2024 UEFA club competition finals announced". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Letexier dirigera la finale" [Benoît Millot will referee the final] (in French). French Football Federation. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Consistency key for UEFA Europa League final referee François Letexier". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 18 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Spain v England – Match info". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Match report – Japan v Paraguay" (PDF). Olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. 24 July 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Real Madrid vs. Arsenal - Match info". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Match officials appointed for landmark FIFA Club World Cup 2025". FIFA. 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  24. ^ "Cristiano Ronaldo's goal not enough as Al Nassr fall to Al Hilal 3-1 in key Saudi Pro League clash: Highlights and goals". Bolavip. 12 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Referee teams for 2026 UEFA club competition finals announced". UEFA.com. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  26. ^ "L'arbitre de Nice-Nantes, François Letexier, a porté plainte après avoir été menacé sur les réseaux sociaux" [The Nice-Nantes referee, François Letexier, filed a complaint after being threatened on social networks]. Le Parisien (in French). 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  27. ^ "Referee Defends Amine Harit's Red Card in OM Defeat to PSG". Onefootball. PSG Talk. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  28. ^ Fish, Hal (12 June 2026). "English Referee Michael Oliver Out of 2026 World Cup Match as FIFA Issue Statement". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  29. ^ Botcherby, Elizabeth (13 June 2026). "Injured referee Oliver to miss World Cup match". BBC.
  30. ^ "Post match summary report – Group H – Cabo Verde v. Saudi Arabia". FIFA. 27 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  31. ^ "Who is the referee for Argentina vs Egypt?". sports.yahoo.com. 7 July 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  32. ^ a b Mendez, Emmanuel (8 July 2026). "Referee Letexier Responds After Argentina vs. Egypt World Cup Controversy". Athlon Sports.
  33. ^ a b Pisani, Sacha (7 July 2026). "Egypt erupt with extraordinary 'rigged' accusations after World Cup drama: 'Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running'". Football360. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
  34. ^ "Mostafa Ziko Calls the World Cup 'Rigged' After Egypt's Loss to Argentina".