The referee of the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, Wilton Sampaio, set the tone for the entire tournament, but all the red cards were shown correctly. This opinion was voiced in an interview with RT by the former president of the College of Football Referees of Russia Nikolai Levnikov. The ex-FIFA referee also explained which of the innovations in the rules is most in doubt, why the organization could not help the referee from Somalia get to the USA, and made the assumption that the World Cup would not be rough, despite three deletions in the very opening. Read more