Yuichi Nishimura Next Match: Controversial Japanese Referee Who Made Contentious Calls Won’t Officiate World Cup 2014 Final; Nicola Rizzoli Picked for Germany vs Argentina (+Video)

Despite being a potential candidate to referee the 2014 World Cup championship match, Yuichi Nishimura, who made contentious calls against in Brazil’s 3-1 victory over Croatia, has not been selected.

The 42-year-old Japanese referee gave a lenient yellow card to Neymar for elbowing Luka Modric in the 26th minute, awarded a soft penalty to Brazil when Brazil striker Fred was fouled by Dejan Lovren in the 71st minute, and disallowed an 83nd minute Croatian goal because he judged that Croatian striker Ivica Olic had fouled Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar in a mid-air challenge.

Nishimura was heavily criticized, and was subsequently demoted to fourth official for the Honduras vs Ecuador game, and did not officiate any more games.

However, Nishimura is one of 15 referees retained on World Cup duties.

Given that the final will feature a European and a South American team, many expected an Asian referee to be appointed.

On Friday, however, FIFA announced that Nicola Rizzoli from Italy will be the match official for the Germany-Netherlands game.

“We choose the best referees for the best matches, and the Italian will referee the final,” said Jim Boyce, the chairman of the FIFA’s refereeing committee.

Massimo Busacca, head of refereeing for FIFA, confirmed that Rizzoli will be in charge of the match, even though FIFA has not officially announced the news.

Rizzoli has already officiated three matches at this year’s World Cup, including Argentina’s quarterfinal victory over Belgium, and a group stage win over Nigeria.

The 42-year-old Italian also handled the high-profile match between the Netherlands and Spain on the second day of the tournament.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

See an AP story below.

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