Referee who missed Luis Suarez bite gets Brazil v Germany semi-final

Posted Monday, July 07, 2014 by theguardian.com

• Fifa appoints Mexico’s Marco Rodríguez for Tuesday’s match
• Rodríguez took Uruguay v Italy game that led to Suárez ban

Marco Rodríguez has handled two World Cup matches, including Uruguay’s 1-0 win against Italy on 24 June

The referee who failed to see Luis Suárez bite an opponent has been picked to officiate Brazil’s World Cup semi-final against Germany.

Fifa says on its website that Marco Rodríguez of Mexico will referee the match in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.

Rodríguez has handled two World Cup matches – Uruguay’s 1-0 win against Italy on 24 June and Belgium’s 2-1 defeat of Algeria. It is his third World Cup finals and the first time he has refereed a game in the knock-out stages.

Suárez’s bite of the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder went unseen and unpunished by the Mexican match officials. Fifa later banned Suárez for nine international matches and four months from all football activity. He has appealed.

Earlier in the game Rodríguez showed the Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio a red card for a serious foul.

Fifa said Mark Geiger of the US will be fourth official for the match. He was also fourth official for Uruguay against Italy.