FIFA have today released the list of match officials entrusted to oversee the 2018 World Cup and, for the first time in eight decades, not a single British referee or assistant has been included.
The list contains the names of 99 referees and assistants (36 of the former, 63 of the latter), though none hail from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for the first time since the 1938 tournament.
Should you be in the slightest bit concerned, the full list is available to peruse here.
In reality, it’s not a massive deal. Britain have only had one solitary representative in the last two World Cups (Howard Webb in 2010 and 2014) and Mark Clattenburg was the only British official included on the list for Euro 2016, so it’s not like the calibre of homegrown officiating has just gone and dived off a precipice.
Honestly – and this is a view Pies have held firmly for a great number of years – we couldn’t care less who the referee is for any given game and, if you do, you’re probably a bit weird.