FRANCE 98 – England-Romania: French referee Marc Batta in his first World Cup

Frenchman Marc BATTA will be refereeing match N° 32- ROMANIA – ENGLAND (Group G) on Monday 22 June in TOULOUSE. This international referee, native of MARSEILLE, at the age of 44 is participating in his first World Cup. “I am really looking forward to entering this World Cup. I’ve been waiting for this moment for twenty days. Just like the players, I’m impatient to be part of the action.”

An “old hand” at top level matches, Marc BATTA says the idea of refereeing an ENGLAND match doesn’t bother him. “It will be a World Cup match just like any other one. I’ll referee the game with just as much pleasure and seriousness as any other game.”

Marc BATTA is a fan of Olympique de Marseille and he hopes also that FRANCE (Group C) will go as far as possible in the competition. If FRANCE don’t make it to the final, they may be represented by the country’s referee from MARSEILLE, who dreams (of course) of refereeing on 12 July at SAINT-DENIS.