Fifa has put Maurizio Mariani in charge of Brazil Vs Japan in the round of 16 of the World Cup, naming the Italian referee for Monday, June 29, in Houston, United States. Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni will serve as his assistants.
The assignment gives Mariani his third match in the tournament and places a 44-year-old referee with a long climb through the Italian game at the center of one of the knockout round’s most watched fixtures. He was born in Rome, started refereeing at 16 and made his debut in Italy’s youth competitions in 2000 before moving steadily upward through Serie D in 2007, Serie C in 2009, Serie B in 2011 and Serie A from 2013.
His international profile has grown in steps that mirror that rise. Mariani has been on Fifa’s refereeing list since 2019, was picked for Inter de Milão and Milan in 2020, joined Fifa’s Video Assistant Referee group in 2021 and reached Uefa Elite status in 2024. He also worked at Copa América in 2024 as part of an exchange program with Conmebol, then handled the Copa da Itália final between Milan and Bologna in 2025 and the FIFA U-20 World Cup final between Argentina and Marrocos in Chile.
That path makes the knockout assignment easy to read as a vote of confidence, even if the selection process itself is not spelled out. Mariani had already worked two group-stage matches before Brazil Vs Japan, and Fifa has now moved him from the opening phase into the first round of elimination, where every decision carries more weight and every mistake travels farther.
For Brazil and Japan, the immediate reality is simple: the match will be overseen by an Italian crew led by a referee who has been moving up the biggest stages for years. What remains unanswered is not whether Mariani is trusted, but how far Fifa intends to carry that trust as the tournament moves deeper into Houston.
