American Referee Mark Geiger in Contention to Work World Cup Final
Mark Geiger is already the only American referee to have worked a men's World Cup stage knockout game, doing so in the round of 16 in each of the last two tournaments. He remains in contention to be the first to reach a far higher achievement, too.
Geiger is among 12 referees that FIFA has kept in Russia for the final phase of the World Cup. Geiger was not assigned to a semifinal match, which means he could wind up working the final or the third-place game this weekend.
In Russia, Geiger has worked the Morocco-Portugal match and was at the center of a bizarre controversy, when a Morocco player alleged that Geiger had asked for a Portugal player's jersey at halftime, hinting at unprofessionalism and a clear bias. FIFA was quick to dismiss the accusation, and Geiger went on to work South Korea's 2-0 win over Germany, in which the defending champions were eliminated.
The New Jersey native was rewarded with a round-of-16 clash between Colombia and England, which became a heated affair, with the referee a lightning rod for criticism from Colombian players–and Diego Maradona.
No matter, FIFA has kept open the possibility he'll work one of the final matches of the competition.
It won't be in the upcoming round, though. Uruguayan Andres Cunha will work Tuesday's semifinal between France and Belgium, while Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir will be the man in the middle for Wednesday's bout between England and Croatia.
