Francois Letexier will referee the final of Euro 2024 between England and Spain on Sunday, taking charge of a major international showpiece for the first time.
The Three Lions are looking to end 58 years of hurt in Berlin but must overcome a La Roja side who have played brilliantly throughout the tournament
England booked their place in the final thanks to a dramatic 2-1 win over Netherlands on Wednesday night, while Spain beat France by the same scoreline 24 hours earlier.
Both sides will be eagerly anticipating the huge clash in Berlin on Sunday, as will Letexier after being confirmed to take charge of the biggest match of his career.
Who is Francois Letexier?
The Frenchman only turned 35 in April, but has already risen to the elite level of refereeing, having made his debut in Ligue 1 back in 2016.
Since then he has taken charge of finals of the Coupe de France and refereed the UEFA Super Cup between Manchester City and Sevilla last year.
He has been involved in a Champions League final as fourth official and Europa League final as VAR, appointed for the Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund clash this year and Manchester United vs Villarreal in 2021 respectively.
Some England fans may be familiar with him from European competition last season, as Letexier refereed in the Champions League and Europa League.
He was in charge of Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Atalanta and the epic 3-3 draw between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in Spain.
Notably, Letexier was once in charge of a Ligue 1 match between Nice and Nantes which finished 1-1 after a controversial late penalty awarded to the former, after which he received ‘many threats’.
Francois Letexier at Euro 2024
Letexier has been in charge of three matches during Euro 2024 so far, handling Croatia 2-2 Albania and Denmark 0-0 Serbia during the group stage and Spain 4-1 Georgia in the last 16.
The Frenchman did not show a red card in any of those matches, peaking at five yellows in the goalless dud between Denmark and Serbia.
The assistant referees on Sunday will be Frenchmen Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni, with the fourth official Szymon Marciniak from Poland. Another French official, Jérôme Brisard, will be VAR.
What has been said about Francois Letexier?
Given his relative inexperience, many have been surprised at Letexier’s appointment to the biggest match, including former English referee Mark Clattenburg who officiated the Euro 2016 final.
He said: ‘UEFA’s choice of Francois Letexier for Sunday’s final will come as a big surprise to a fair few in the refereeing world, including in France, where he is not even seen as their top official.
‘That is Clement Turpin who, unlike Letexier, has the finals of the Europa League and Champions League listed on his C.V.
‘My hunch is Turpin was overlooked for this one because of the mistakes he made in the Euro 2024 opener between Scotland and Germany.’