Haiti vs. Scotland: Who is the referee, VAR for Tartan Army's World Cup 2026 opener? Record and past controversies assessed

Now that World Cup 2026 has kicked off, attraction is turning to Scotland, who volition participate the 48-team fray erstwhile they look Haiti successful the aboriginal hours of Sunday greeting UK time.

Steve Clarke's Tartan Army are up against it to advancement to the knockout rounds, having been drawn successful Group C on with Brazil, Morocco and this weekend's opponents.

With that successful mind, the good margins are apt to beryllium decisive, and fans are definite to beryllium examining each item closely, including the lucifer officials for each game.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look astatine the history, grounds and past controversies surrounding the referee and VAR for Scotland's opener against Haiti.

Who is the referee for Haiti vs. Scotland?

FIFA person announced that Mustapha Ghorbal of Algeria volition beryllium the antheral successful the mediate erstwhile Haiti instrumentality connected Scotland.

The 40-year-old referee earned FIFA planetary support backmost successful 2014, and has since been a portion of the 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Ghorbal besides has acquisition astatine the World Cup having been successful complaint of 2 radical signifier games backmost successful 2022, earlier going connected to service arsenic the 4th authoritative for 2 circular of 16 matches.

In presumption of home action, the referee tin often beryllium recovered officiating successful France's Ligue 1, wherever helium gave retired nary consecutive reddish cards successful 2025-26, though helium did springiness 2 individuals 2nd yellowish cards successful his 9 top-flight matches.

Over the entirety of his career, the Algerian authoritative has shown 1115 yellows (29 2nd yellows) and 35 consecutive reds crossed 284 fixtures, a complaint of 3.9 bookings and 0.2 dismissals per outing.

Fans of European teams mightiness beryllium acquainted with Ghorbal from his enactment astatine the 2025 Club World Cup, during which helium was progressive successful matches featuring Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

What controversies has the referee for Haiti vs. Scotland been progressive in?

Ghorbal was astatine the centre of a large contention backmost successful April, erstwhile helium took complaint of an African Champions League semi-final archetypal limb betwixt Tunisia's Esperance Tunis and South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns.

The referee overturned an Esperance extremity for a foul connected the Sundowns shot-stopper conscionable beyond the hr mark, a determination that was confirmed via VAR.

The beneficiaries past went connected to triumph that archetypal limb 1-0, contempt having Grant Kekana sent disconnected precocious on, an result that triggered the location assemblage into throwing h2o bottles astatine the officials arsenic they exited the pitch.

A constabulary escort was required to assistance Ghorbal permission the crushed safely, with enraged fans hoping to face the referee aft the game.

Who is the VAR for Haiti vs. Scotland?

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for this crippled is Jose Enrique Naranjo, 1 of 2 Spanish officials progressive successful this match.

Naranjo's countryman Alejandro Hernandez volition enactment arsenic the Fourth Official, portion Algerian duo Mokrane Gourari and Abbes Akram Zerhouni volition beryllium the adjunct referees for Sunday's clash.

Full database of lucifer officials for Haiti vs. Scotland:

• Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria) 
• VAR: Jose Enrique Naranjo (Spain)
• Assistant Referee: Mokrane Gourari (Algeria) 
• Assistant Referee: Abbes Akram Zerhouni (Algeria) 
• Fourth Official: Alejandro Hernandez (Spain)