PRO officials return to field at 2018 World Cup

Wednesday’s Group F clash between South Korea and Germany will be officiated by an all-PRO team on the field, with both teams looking to reach the knockout stages.

Mark Geiger will feature as center referee for the second time at the tournament, with Joe Fletcher and Frank Anderson acting as his assistant referees.

It’s the second time the three officials have been assigned together, having worked in the same roles for Portugal’s 1-0 win over Morocco last Wednesday, but this time the fourth official will be Juan Bascunan of Chile.

Corey Rockwell will also be involved, but not at the stadium. He will serve the role of assistant VAR 2 from the remote video operations room in Moscow.

There are a number of permutations at play in Group F, with all four nations still in the race to qualify. South Korea’s survival relies on them beating Germany and Mexico beating Sweden, as well as securing a better goal difference than the two European sides.

If Sweden earn a better result against Mexico than Germany do against South Korea, the reigning World Champions would fail to progress from the group stages.

If both fixtures in the group end in a draw, the team with the higher-scoring game will qualify. If the games end with the same scoreline, Germany will reach the round of 16 by virtue of their head-to-head record against Sweden, with Mexico finishing top.

The match will be Geiger’s eighth assignment at the tournament, already far surpassing the five he fulfilled at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It is Fletcher’s sixth assignment, and Anderson’s and Rockwell’s second.

Also on Wednesday, Jair Marrufo will serve as fourth official in the Group E game between Serbia and Brazil – the first time a PRO official will fulfil the role at this tournament.

To keep track of all PRO’s World Cup assignments, please click here.