Elizondo to referee World Cup final

BERLIN: Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo will be in charge of Sunday's World Cup final here between France and Italy, FIFA announced on Thursday.       

Elizondo was also in charge of the tournament opener between Germany and Costa Rica in Munich on June 9.     

In the quarter-finals he was the referee for the England v Portugal game and sent off England striker Wayne Rooney in a controversial decision for stamping on an opponent.         

The 42-year-old physical education teacher has been a professional referee since 1994 and his first international was a game between Ecuador and Colombia in October 1996.          

He lists playing golf and writing poems as his main hobbies.     

Joining him for the final as linesmen will be compatriots Dario Garcia and Otero Rodolfo with two Spaniards - Medina Cantalejo and Giraldez Carrasco - as the fourth and fifth officials.

FIFA also announced that Japan's Toru Kamikawa will be the referee for Saturday's match for third place between Germany and Portugal in Stuttgart.