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John Jones

Who is Argentina v Croatia referee Daniele Orsato, the trained electrician who has history with Messi and Modric

Argentina and Croatia will go head-to-head on Tuesday night for a place in the 2022 World Cup final.

The two sides met at the World Cup in Russia four years ago, with Croatia beating Lionel Messi's team 3-0 in a feisty encounter that saw seven yellow cards handed out.

Hoping for a quieter game this time around is Daniele Orsato, the referee selected to take charge of this year's first semi-final, who has experience of officiating at World Cups, European Championships and in the Champions League.

Here's everything you need to know about the man in the middle for Argentina v Croatia.

Who is Daniele Orsato?

Born in a small town near Vincenza, Italy in 1975, Orsato grew up wanting to become an electrician as he was fascinated by "how lights turned on". He went on to achieve his dream, but later enrolled on a football refereeing course after being encouraged to do so by someone he worked with.

He started officiating in Serie C, the Italian third division, in 2002 but rose up to the top flight within four years. He has since overseen hundreds of Serie A matches and become one of Europe's most well-respected referees, known for his strict on-field persona.

After becoming a FIFA referee in 2010, he has overseen a number of important finals, including the Coppa Italia finals in 2013 and 2015 as well as the 2020 Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Orsato, who was named by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) as the world's best referee in 2020, has also officiated at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.

He was selected to take charge of the opening game of the 2022 World Cup between Ecuador and hosts Qatar and is the oldest referee at the tournament.

What history does he have with Argentina and Croatia?

Orsato has officiated the semi-finalists on previous occasions.

He was the man in the middle for Croatia's 1-0 loss to England at last year's European Championships, while he also oversaw one of their qualifying matches for that tournament, a 3-0 win over Hungary in which Hungarian midfielder László Kleinheisler was sent off.

The Italian ref also has very recent history with Argentina, having officiated their group stage match against Mexico less than three weeks ago. That fixture saw Argentina win 2-0 with five yellow cards handed out over the course of the game.

However, he has not just encountered the two sides' stars on the international stage, having been involved in many games that have featured the likes of Lionel Messi and Luka Modric.

He will be well remembered to Modric after taking charge of two fiery clashes between Real Madrid and Manchester City in the Champions League. The Croatian was booked by Orsato when the two sides met in the last 16 of the 2020 competition in a game that saw his teammate Sergio Ramos controversially sent off, and was cautioned again by the Italian in the semi-finals two years later after being caught up in a scuffle with City defender Aymeric Laporte in the opening minutes.

Orsato also has experience of dealing with Modric and Messi going head-to-head, with the two past Ballon D'or winners facing each other in the Champions League Round of 16 earlier this year. The Italian oversaw the first leg and handed out eight yellow cards.

Who are his assistants for the semi-final?

Orsato will be assisted by fellow countrymen Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini during the semi-final.

The full refereeing line-up for Argentina v Croatia is as follows:

Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA)

Assistant Referee 1: Ciro Carbone (ITA)

Assistant Referee 2: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)

Fourth Official: Mohamed Mohammed (UAE)

Reserve Assistant Referee: Mohamed Alhammadi (UAE)

Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)

Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Paolo Valeri (ITA)

Offside Video Assistant Referee: Katryn Nesbitt (USA)

Support Video Assistant Referee: Juan Soto (VEN)

Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Kyle Atkins (USA)

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