Vergara to work third-place game

Associated Press-Canadian Press Thursday, June 27 – Online Edition, Posted at 10:20 AM EST

Yokohama, Japan — In a World Cup where the officiating has come under fire, there have been no complaints about Canadian Hector Vergara. And the Winnipeg assistant referee was rewarded for his performance Thursday when he was assigned to work Saturday's third-place playoff between South Korea and Turkey in Daegu, South Korea.

Pierluigi Collina, the Italian referee known for his bald head and consistent officiating, will be in charge of the championship game Sunday between Brazil and Germany in Yokohama. Collina, 42, refereed the highly anticipated Argentina-England match in the first round, with Vergara as one of his assistants, and the second-round clash between Japan and Turkey.

The Italian financial consultant recently appeared in an advertisement for German sportswear manufacturer Adidas but FIFA president Sepp Blatter said this hasn't affected FIFA's decision to appoint Collina as the referee for the finals since Adidas is one of the organization's sponsors and provides the equipment for referees at the World Cup. "I don't see any conflict," Blatter said. Germany, which is outfitted by Adidas, will meet Brazil, which wears Nike.

Collina is widely regarded as the best official in the world. His resume includes the 1999 Champions League final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich and the high-profile England-Germany World Cup qualifying game last September.

Leif Lindberg of Sweden and England's Philip Sharp will be the linesmen while Scotland's Hugh Dallas will complete the European quartet as a fourth official.

Kuwait's Saad Mane will referee the third-place game with Vergara and Ali Al Traifi as his assistants. The fourth official will be Mexico's Felipe Ramos Rizo. Vergara, 35, has also worked Italy-Ecuador, England-Nigeria, Sweden-Senegal and the quarter-final between England and Brazil at the World Cup.