American to referee Greece vs Colombia

FIFA has announced the referee designations for the matches 5-8, to be played on Saturday, 14 June 2014. Colombia-Greece will be officiated by US referee Mark Geiger, a 39-year-old professional referee and former high school teacher from Beachwood, New Jersey.

Geiger supervised his first international in 2008 and was in charge for two finals in 2011: Costa Rica-Mexico in the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and Brazil-Portugal at the climax of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. That same year, he was named Major League Soccer Referee of the Year.

Before he left the classroom to be a full-time soccer official, Geiger won a Presidential Award for Excellence as a high school math teacher in New Jersey. He says the two jobs are a lot alike. After all, a yellow card is like detention; a red card like expulsion.

Geiger was Major League Soccer's referee of the year in 2011. He is the only American to have officiated the final of a FIFA U-20 World Cup, has worked two games in the 2012 London Olympics and is bringing respect to American football officials.

His team will include assistant referee Sean Hurd, also from the U.S., and the Colombia-Greece matchup will mark the first time two U.S. officials have worked the same World Cup game.