Germany v Scotland Euro 2024 referee - who is Clement Turpin? Nationality and refereeing record

The long wait is almost over as the hours tick down towards kick-off in the opening game of Scotland’s Euro 2024 challenge as Steve Clarke’s side take on tournament hosts Germany.

The Tartan Army has descended on Munich and are in fine spirits as they prepare to get behind their side in their attempts to pull off what would be viewed as a major start on the opening night of the tournament. If Clarke’s men are to claim a historic win, the likes of Manchester United star Scott McTominay, Hearts striker Lawrence Shankland and Aston Villa’s John McGinn will all have to hit form as they take on a Germany side littered with big names.

A lot could depend on the man in the middle as all eyes are on the match officials to see how they function with new rules and regulations put in place. It will be the vastly experienced Clement Turpin that will be the lead official in the game - but what do we know about him?

Where is Turpin from?

The 42-year-old was born in Oullins, France and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2010 and made it into UEFA’s Elite group of officials just two years later. Turpin was named as the best referee in France by the French Football Federation in 2016, officiating at Euro 2016 and the Olympics during the same year.

What notable games has Turpin taken charge of?

Turpin has been handed the responsibility of officiating several high-profile fixtures over the last 14 years and was curiously named as referee for the Bulgarian capital derby between Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia in July 2020. Turpin took charge of two group fixtures at Euro 2016 as he was the man in the middle for Hungary’s 2-0 win over Austria and Germany’s narrow 1-0 victory against Northern Ireland.

A first World Cup appearance followed in Russia two years later as Turpin officiated Uruguay’s 1-0 win against Saudi Arabia and the 2-2 draw between Switzerland and Costa Rica. More major tournament appearances followed over the following four years as the Frenchman was named as man in the middle for group stage games at Euro 2020 and the World Cup in Qatar in 2020 - but he made a first knockout stage appearance in the latter as referee of Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea.

Turpin has also taken charge of some high-profile games at club level after overseeing Villarreal’s win over Manchester United in the 2021 Europa League Final in Gdansk and Liverpool’s Champions League Final loss against La Liga giants Real Madrid at the Stade de France 12 months later.

Who else will officiate Scotland v Germany?

There is a distinctly French feel about the officials for Friday night’s opener with assistant VAR Massimiliano Irrati the only non-French official in place. The team in full is: Referee: Clement Turpin (FRA) Assistant Referees: Nicolas Danos (FRA) and Benjamin Pages (FRA) Video Assistant Referee: Jerome Brisard (FRA)  Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1: Willy Delajod (FRA) Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) Fourth official: Francois Letexier (FRA)