PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

The last two quarterfinal referees have been named for Saturday, July 5: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy (above) and Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan.

I’m both pleased and sad at the Rizzoli appointment; pleased because it’s a good appointment, and sad because this means he’s out of the final. But I’m not surprised; quite frankly, though he’s been good, this isn’t the best I’ve ever seen from Rizzoli.

As for Irmatov, I’m kind of shocked. Obviously, Massimo Busacca and FIFA know better than me, but he has not had the smoothest of games in at least two of his outings (though he was good in one). He’s one of the most – if not the most – experienced refs in the tournament, so that had to play into it.

But I wouldn’t bet my lunch money on him not screwing up in this one.

(There are also dark rumors that Irmatov was supposed to do Argentina’s Round of 16 match, but it was given to Jonas Eriksson after a complaint. No way to validate, but a Round of 16 would make more sense, considering how both he and Eriksson have performed.)

My guess is that they’re holding on to Bjorn Kuipers, Howard Webb and Sandro Ricci for the semifinals and final in some capacity.

Ben Williams of Australia and Noumandiez Doue of Ivory Coast are fourth officials.

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
Assistant Referee 1: Renato Faverani (ITA)
Assistant Referee 2: Andrea Stefani (ITA)
Fourth Official: Benjamin Williams (AUS)

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 1: Abduxamidullo Rasulov (UZB)
Assistant Referee 2: Bakhadyr Kochkarov (KGZ)
Fourth Official: Noumandiez Doue (CIV)

Featured image: Zimbio