Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: Four-time AFC Referee of the Year Ravshan Irmatov will set a World Cup record on Saturday following the announcement that he will be officiating the quarter-final match between Netherlands and Costa Rica.
The experienced Uzbek referee will be the first to reach nine games for the World Cup, beating the previous record of eight he shared with Joël Quiniou of France, Benito Archundia of Mexico and Uruguay's Jorge Larrionda.
The Netherlands versus Costa Rica match will be his fourth at the current FIFA World Cup tournament, bringing his total to nine games overall following the five ties he refereed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The milestone has been greeted well by AFC General Secretary, Dato' Alex Soosay, who paid tribute to Irmatov and his record-breaking feat which he attributed to the Uzbek's total dedication and professionalism.
"Irmatov has such great passion, respect and understanding for the game, which are important values in a referee. He has shown that he can take responsibility and will not shy away from making big decisions in big matches. That is why he is considered as one of the elite world football referees in today's game," said Dato' Alex.
He further stated, "We are extremely proud that an AFC referee is the first to reach this milestone, as it is further proof that the referee programme we have developed is contributing towards raising the standards of refereeing in Asia and the world."
A four-time AFC Referee of the Year, Irmatov took charge of his first match at Brazil 2014 when he officiated Group E's opener between Switzerland and Ecuador, before going on to referee Croatia versus Mexico and the USA versus Germany game. He also refereed the curtain raiser at the 2010 FIFA World Cup between the host South Africa and Mexico– and went on to create a record that year by refereeing five matches at a single World Cup tournament.
Photo: AFP