French Referee Clément Turpin Appointed for England vs. Croatia Match Amidst Past Controversy with England Coach Thomas Tuchel

Kathmandu. French referee Clément Turpin has been appointed as the main referee for the first match between England and Croatia to be held on Wednesday. This appointment has brought back into discussion the old dispute between Turpin and England's current head coach Thomas Tuchel, who once commented that Turpin was a 'Grade E' official. This dispute dates back to April 2023, when Tuchel was the coach of the German club Bayern Munich. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, Turpin sent Tuchel off the field by showing him two yellow cards. In that match held at the Allianz Arena, Turpin had issued five yellow cards in the first half itself. He had also shown a direct red card to Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano for a bad foul on Erling Haaland, but that red card was rescinded due to a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) offside decision. After Bayern Munich was defeated 4-1 on aggregate in that match, coach Tuchel strongly criticized referee Turpin. Responding after the match, Tuchel had said, 'Two things were not up to the standard of the game, first the condition of the pitch was not good and second, unfortunately, the referee's standard was Grade E.' He added, giving Turpin's performance only 1 out of 10 marks, 'He was completely terrible. It is unbelievable that this happens in a game of this level. He was whistling for anything and every decision was against us. In the end, when we had three people (referee team) against us, we were never in a position to turn the game in our favor, that's the reality.' Not only Tuchel, but England midfielder Jude Bellingham has also experienced Turpin's tough nature up close. While playing for Real Madrid, Bellingham tried to distract Bayern striker Harry Kane as he was about to take a penalty. At that time, referee Turpin pushed Bellingham away from the penalty spot. Despite such disputes with Tuchel and Bellingham, Turpin is considered one of Europe's top referees. He has experience officiating major matches like the 2021 Europa League final and the 2022 Champions League final. Turpin was also selected as a referee for Euro 2024, where he officiated the 0-0 draw match between England and Slovenia.