There was an early unexpected delay to the World Cup semi-final between France and Spain after the referee had to be bailed out by a colleague for forgetting a key piece of equipment.
Spain won a free-kick on eight minutes after France midfielder Adrien Rabiot mistimed a challenge on Spain’s Dani Olmo, standing on the Barcelona man’s foot which saw him see a yellow card.
But in an embarrassing moment for referee Ivan Barton, he suddenly realised he did not have the white vanishing spray needed to show the wall where to stand.
Fourth official Glenn Nyberg ran onto the pitch to give him the spray can as Salvadoran official Barton made his way towards the touchline, smiling as he jogged past slightly bewildered players.
Better late than never 😅
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 14, 2026
The referee forgets his white spray before a Spain free kick... pic.twitter.com/F7bWNsVwsA
“The referee has forgotten his spray. Come on, you have two jobs. Remember your whistle and remember your spray,” said former England forward Chris Sutton on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Born in Santa Ana, El Salvador’s second largest city, Barton has previously worked as a professor of organic chemistry after earning a degree in chemical sciences at university.
The 35-year-old is a regular in Concacaf’s biggest tournaments and made his World Cup debut with the whistle at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Earlier at this edition, Barton made history as the first referee to send a player off for covering their mouth during a confrontation, dismissing Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron during their game against Turkey. He was also in charge for the round of 16 clash between Colombia and Switzerland.
Barton was the referee who halted a 2023 Concacaf Nations League encounter between the United States and Mexico early in stoppage time due to homophobic chants from fans.
