By Ewan Murray
The Euro 2024 final promises to be the most important international match that England and Spain's players have ever undertaken.
The butterflies will already be fluttering in the stomachs of even the biggest stars, with the two nations preparing to do battle for the Henri Delaunay Cup on Sunday night at the Olympiastadion. It's a game of epic proportions.
However, one lucky referee has also been handed the honour of overseeing the upcoming final. An all-time career achievement, only the best of the best are trusted with an event of such gargantuan importance with so many judging eyes in the audience.
Here is everything you need to know about the referee for Spain vs England in the Euro 2024 final.
Who will referee Spain vs England at Euro 2024?
Francois Letexier is the official with the whistle for Sunday's Euro 2024 final in Berlin. The Frenchman will be joined by his assistants and compatriots Cyril Mugnier and Mehdi Rahmouni, while Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, who officiated the 2022/23 Champions League final, is the fourth official. France's Jerome Brisard is the VAR.
Letexier has already taken charge of three matches at Euro 2024, including the draw between Denmark and Serbia in England's Group C. The 35-year-old has refereed one of Spain's games at the tournament - the 4-1 win over Georgia in the last 16 - and has dished out ten yellow cards in his three outings.
How experienced is Francois Letexier?
At just 35, Letexier is not the most experienced referee on the circuit. In terms of big games, he has taken charge of two Coupe de France finals, including this year's showpiece between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, and the 2023 UEFA Super Cup.
This is his first appearance at a major international tournament but he does have 13 Champions League games under his belt. The most prominent of those European outings were quarter-final clashes in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Across over 300 games during his career, including official youth matches, Letexier has averaged 3.7 yellow cards per match. He dishes out a straight red card every ten games and a penalty approximately every three matches.
Has Francois Letexier ever refereed England before?
While Letexier has never taken charge of a senior England match, he has refereed several Three Lions youth games. He oversaw England's Under-21s' 2-0 defeat at Euro 2021 to Portugal, while he was also involved in a 4-3 loss for England's Under-20 side at the hands of France in an international friendly back in 2015.
He has officiated English clubs on many occasions, though. Chelsea have had him as a referee three times, while Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool have all had him on two occasions each. Letexier also took charge of Brighton's 4-0 defeat to Roma in last season's Europa League.
Refereeing controversies involving Francois Letexier
Like all referees, Letexier has been involved in some controversy - although nowhere near the level of England's semi-final referee Felix Zwayer.
His most notable match involved Nice and Nantes in Ligue 1 in October 2022. The latter were left furious after not being awarded a penalty for an obvious handball, only for Letexier to punish Nantes for a more dubious handball in the 97th minute.
Nicolas Pepe converted from the spot and Nantes were then punished with two red cards after Nice equalised in late stoppage-time. Letexier was the subject of death threats in the following days, but doubled down on his decisions during a subsequent interview withL'Equipe.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Who is the referee for Spain vs England?.
