English referee Anthony Taylor was not considered for the World Cup final between Argentina and France due to ill-feeling around the Falklands War, according to reports.
Taylor took charge of Ghana's dramatic 3-2 win over South Korea in the group stages of the 2022 tournament while he was also the man in the middle as third place play-off winners Croatia drew 0-0 with Belgium to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
However, The Times report that the Cheshire official's hopes of officiating the final at Lusail Stadium were dealt a fatal blow when Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals.
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Ensuring neutrality is said to be a key priority of FIFA when it comes to selecting match officials.
It means that officials from England would not be allowed to be involved in Argentina matches, and vice versa, due to the battle between the UK and Argentina in 1982.
Polish official Szymon Marciniak will oversee Sunday's final. The match - which is being broadcast live on BBC One and ITV 1 - gets underway at 3pm.
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