Maurizio Mariani named referee for Uruguay v Saudi Arabia World Cup 2026 opener

Maurizio Mariani will referee Uruguay’s World Cup 2026 Group H opener against Saudi Arabia at Miami Stadium on June 15, FIFA has confirmed. The Italian has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2019 and has taken charge of more than 430 games across European and global competitions.

Mariani is perhaps best known at club level for officiating the fiercely contested Serie A derby between AC Milan and Inter Milan in October 2020, a match Inter won 2-1 at the San Siro. The World Cup assignment marks his first major international tournament.

Joining Mariani on the officiating team will be fellow Italians Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni as assistant referees, and Marco Di Bello on VAR, assisted by Croatia’s Ivan Bebek. Canadian official Drew Thomas Fischer will serve as the fourth official at Miami Stadium.

The officiating crew will also cut a distinctive figure on the pitch, wearing ‘flamingo pink’ shirts as a nod to the host city. FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer and Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, explained the decision.

“Miami is our base camp so we thought it would be nice to show our appreciation to the city where we’ll live for about two months,” Collina said. “We chose this ‘pink flamingo’ for the referees’ training material. It’s a sort of recognition. Also, the first match — which will be played in Miami, June 15 — Uruguay v Saudi Arabia, the referee will wear the pink flamingo shirt.”

The colour is closely associated with Miami due to the flamingos once abundant in the region, a connection also reflected in David Beckham’s Inter Miami club adopting pink as their home kit colour.

On the pitch, two-time World Cup champions Uruguay will be looking to record a second consecutive victory over Saudi Arabia at the tournament, having previously beaten them in the group stage eight years ago.