FIFA has appointed Italian referee Daniele Orsato to take charge of the today’s World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia.
The football governing body also named Massimiliano Irrati to head the Video Assistant Refree.
It kicks off on Tuesday December 13 at 19.00 GMT in Qatar.
Orsato has emerged as one of the primary candidates to officiate the Final, especially as he already took control of the opening game in the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador, then in Argentina’s 2-0 group stage win over Mexico.
He was assigned no match for the entire Round of 16 and quarter-finals, but returns for the semi-final.
There will be plenty of familiar faces to the Serie A referee, as the two teams parade Serie A stars that Lautaro Martinez, Marcelo Brozovic, Angel Di Maria, Ivan Perisic, Leandro Paredes, Nikola Vlasic and Paulo Dybala.
Orsato only ever officiated Argentina in their 2-0 win over Mexico in this competition, while his record with Croatia is two wins and the 1-0 defeat to England at EURO 2020.
The pressure is on, especially after Portugal and the Netherlands both accused referees at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar of favouring Argentina.
Several officials have been criticised for their performances, not least in the quarter-finals.
