ANTHONY TAYLOR was reportedly barred from taking charge of Argentina's World Cup final win over France.
Last year's Qatar final saw Lionel Messi triumph over then-PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe in a thrilling penalty shootout.
Instead, Szymon Marciniak of Poland was chosen to take charge of the showpiece event.
And the Times claims Fifa made its decision to avoid any conflict between an English referee and Argentina due to issues regarding the Falkland Islands.
As a result, Taylor was never in the running to be selected.
Fifa maintains a policy of neutrality in matches, with an Argentine ref also unable to officiate games involving England.
There are no suggestions a referee could be influenced in their decision making.
But Fifa's policy comes so there's no chance of a situation arising regarding claims of bias.
Animosity around the Falklands War was displayed following Argentina’s semi-final win over Croatia.
Players were heard singing a chant popular with their fans called Muchachos – which references the Falklands War and aims insults at England and Brazil.
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Nicolas Otamendi was filmed shirtless as Argentina players sung "Ingleses putos de Malvinas no me olvido", which has a rough translation of "f***ing English in the Falklands, I don't forget".
The full chant goes: "Brazilian, what happened, the five-time champions screwed up.
"Messi went to Rio and he left with the cup [in reference to their Copa America win on Brazilian soil].
"We are the Argentine band and we will always cheer them on, because we have the dream of being the world champion.
"I'm like that, I am Argentinian, f***ing English in the Falklands, I don't forget. I'm like that, I encourage you, I follow Argentina everywhere."
Taylor did eventually get a chance to referee a major final as Roma faced Sevilla in last season's Europa League showpiece in Budapest.
The Spanish side won and Roma's Jose Mourinho raged over some of his decisions.
The Portuguese manager was so fuming with Taylor's officiating that he waited for him in the stadium car park before unleashing an X-rated rant.
Taylor was then confronted and abused by angry Roma fans at the airport in shocking scenes.
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