Despite being listed in the group of referees that would remain in Qatar for the final set of matches at the tournament, Anthony Taylor wasn't chosen to officiate either semi-final, the third place play-off, or the final itself. The English official was part of a group asked to stay in the country to fill for potential final eventualities.
England's referee against France in the quarter-final, Wilton Sampaio, was also asked to remain but Argentina's man in the middle against Netherlands was sent home after brandishing 16 cards over 120 minutes. Michael Oliver, the other Premier League referee in Qatar, was also sent home.
Taylor remained but wasn't given an extra assisgnment, but the reasons behind this could be extremely controversial, with the Times reporting that Argentina's continued anger at England over the Falklands War has impacted the decision.
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Due to strict neutrality rules, Taylor wasn't deemed eligible for Argentina matches. The conflict between England and Argentina 40 years is still an issue in some parts of South America.
Another point that could have influenced FIFA's decision making is that after the 3-0 semi-final win against Croatia, Argentina's players were videoed singing a popular song called Muchachos in the changing room after the match, which references the Falklands War and has a line about the "f***ing English."
Taylor hasn't been in charge of a match since Croatia's 0-0 draw against Belgium on December 1 and Szymon Marciniak of Poland is the official for the final.
Argentina kick off against France at 3pm on Sunday afternoon in a highly-anticipated match that could see Lionel Messi finally become a World Cup winner.
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