Haimoudi to ref third place play-off
- adamhigginsuk
- Jul 11, 2014
- 2 min read
Keeping the peace: Haimoudi will take up the whistle in the Brazilian capital as La Selecao and La Oranje compete for third place (Picture from Zimbio.com)
ALGERIAN referee Djamel Haimoudi will take charge of the third place play-off between Brazil and Holland on Saturday, Fifa have confirmed.
The experienced 43-year-old will be the man in the middle as the host nation and 2010 finalists do battle to decide who finishes third and fourth at the 2014 World Cup.
He will be assisted in Brasilia by fellow countryman Abdelhalk Etchiali and Redounane Achik of Morocco.
Japan's Yuichi Nishimura - who was the referee for the controversial opening match of the tournament between Brazil and Croatia - will be the fourth official with Toru Sagara on standby as the reserve assistant.
Haimoudi was also in charge of the third place play-off at the Confederations Cup last summer as Uruguay beat 10-man Italy on penalties after midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was sent off.
It will be his fourth match of the tournament after handling Holland's 3-2 win over Australia and England's goalless draw with Costa Rica in the group stages as well as Belgium's 2-1 victory over the USA in the round of 16.
Oran-based Haimoudi, who has been a Fifa-listed referee for 10 years, has officiated at three editions of the African Cup of Nations and was chosen for the 2013 final between Nigeria and Burkina Faso in Johannesburg.
He has also taken control of the CAF Champions League decider in 2008, 2012 and 2013 as well as the CAF Super Cup in 2008.
His tournament experience also stretches to the 2011 Fifa Under-20s World Cup and 2012 Fifa Club World Cup.
Brazil were humiliated by Germany in a 7-1 semi-final thrashing while the Dutch lost on penalties to Argentina after a goalless draw in 120 minutes.
The two sides also met at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as Holland came from behind to win 2-1 in their quarter-final.
The 21:00 BST kick-off at the Estadio Nacional on 12 July will be screened exclusively live on ITV and ITV HD.
Making history: Haimoudi - who was the CAF referee of the year in 2012 - will become the first African referee to take charge of the third place play-off in World Cup history (Picture from Twitter.com)
Last updated: 11 July 2014 11:32am
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