Euro 2024 final: Who is Francois Letexier? Everything you need to know about French referee for Spain v England

Published 14/07/2024 at 14:54 GMT

Find out all you need to know about the referee for the Euro 2024 final - 35-year-old Francois Letexier who will officiate at the upcoming Olympic Games, has had a run-in with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and helped oversee the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. Letexier will take charge of the clash between Spain and England, as Gareth Southgate's side look to claim a first European title.

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England will face Spain in their second successive Euros final as they bid to end their long wait for European Championship glory.

Gareth Southgate has become the only England manager to guide the men's national side to two major tournament finals after they also reached the Euro 2020 final, which they lost to Italy on penalties at Wembley Stadium.

The Three Lions will hope to avoid the same fate when they come up against Luis de la Fuente’s outfit in their first major final overseas, with Spain heading into the clash as the slight favourites after an impressive campaign.

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Everything is set ahead of what is expected to be a blockbuster final in the German capital as England look to wrap up their first major triumph since 1966, but who is the man in the middle for Sunday’s clash?

Here is everything you need to know about the 35-year-old referee and court bailiff Francois Letexier ahead of the match.

Euro 2024 final referee announced

French official Letexier will take charge of the final between England and Spain, which kicks off at 20:00 UK time on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

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Born in 1989, the official has been a FIFA referee since 2017 and predominately works in Ligue 1, where he became the league’s youngest referee upon his appointment in 2016.

Letexier has officiated 65 UEFA matches throughout his career and last season took charge of 10 UEFA club matches across the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League competitions.

In the same month he was selected for Euro 2024 in March earlier this year, Letexier was also picked to referee at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.

Away from football, Letexier is a part-time court bailiff, which he reportedly does for "a good life balance” alongside refereeing.

Has Letexier refereed a final before?

In 2021, a then-32-year-old Letexier refereed his first senior cup final when Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain met in the Coupe de France.

Letexier’s first involvement in a European final came in the same year when he was appointed the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the Europa League final between Manchester United and Villarreal.

Two years later, he oversaw United’s rivals when Manchester City played Sevilla in the 2023 Super Cup, which Pep Guardiola’s side won on penalties.

Earlier this year, he refereed his second Coupe de France final, while he was also the fourth official for the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley.

What happened between Letexier and Haaland?

In an unfortunate incident between Letexier and Norwegian star Erling Haaland during Man City’s 3-3 quarter-final draw with Real Madrid, the referee accidentally struck Haaland in the face during a spat with Madrid’s Dani Carvajal.

Letexier gestured and pointed towards the City goal in an argument with Carvajal when Haaland walked past and took the Frenchman’s backhand to the face.