England vs Croatia – Controversial Turkish Ref Named For World Cup Semi-Final, Three Lions Have Great Record When He Officiates

Chelsea's defender John Terry receives a red card from Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir

Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir will officiate the World Cup semi-final clash against Croatia.

The 41-year-old will take charge of his third game of the tournament, have previously refereed Iran’s 1-0 victory over Morocco and Argentina’s 2-1 win against Nigeria.

The experienced ref has shown nine yellow cards and is yet to brandish a red in Russia.

Cakir awarded a penalty against Argentina for Javier Mascherano holding an opponent in the area.

England have been awarded two penalties for to the same offense.

The England national team meanwhile have fared rather well under Cakir.

The Three Lions have played four games with him in charge, winning three and drawing once against Ukraine in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

England beat Scotland 3-0 at Wembley during qualifying for the World Cup and the 2-0 win over Switzerland at Euro 2016 qualifying. The other victory was in the 2010 World Cup qualifying against Andorra.

Cakir is the most experienced Turkish referee at International and European level and regularly officiates major tournament games.

The referee officiated the 2015 Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus in Berlin.