- Italian referee Osato to officiate World Cup opener
- 2022-11-19 17:39:39.0 Source: Xinhua Net Sports
Author: Xiao Shiyao, Shan Lei
Italian referee Osatu was appointed by FIFA on the 18th as the referee for the opening game of the World Cup in Qatar – the match between Qatar and Ecuador.
The match will be the 46-year-old Serie A referee’s first World Cup match as head referee, having worked as a video assistant referee at Russia 2018.
In recent years, Osatu served as the referee in the 2020 UEFA Champions League final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, and refereeed three European Championship games last year. FIFA called him “one of the most experienced referees in Europe”.
The Qatar World Cup referee list consists of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees and 24 video assistant referees, including 6 female referees. FIFA President Infantino said at a press conference held on the 18th: “The referee team is the most important team in the World Cup. The 129 referees are doing the most difficult work of all. The referees of this World Cup The preparation of the players is top notch and I have the utmost confidence in them.”