Who is the referee for South Africa vs South Korea?

Referee Facundo Tello in action — It could be a tense encounter as South Africa take on South Korea (Image credit: Getty Images)

It could end up being a fraught encounter as Group A comes to an end on Wednesday night with South Africa taking on South Korea.

The game is set to kick off at 7pm local time (2am UK time) at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Fans of both sides will also have half an eye on the action between Mexico and the Czech Republic, which will kick off at the same time in Mexico City.

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Officials confirmed for South Africa vs South Korea

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio shows a red card to South Africa's Themba Zwan against Mexico — South Africa had two players sent off in their opening game (Image credit: Getty Images)

South Africa need a win to stand any realistic chance whatsoever of making it out of the group stage, while a draw would be good enough for South Korea to take second place behind guaranteed table-toppers Mexico.

The referee may need to keep his head moreso than anyone else, then - and FIFA have put one of their top officials to the task.

Argentina referee Facundo Tello oversees Turkey vs Georgia at Euro 2024. — Facundo Tello was one of the referees at Euro 2024, strangely (Image credit: Getty Images)

Facundo Tello has been officiating in his native Argentina for over a decade, most notably taking charge of a Champions Trophy final between Boca Juniors and Racing Club in which he showed ten red cards in 2022.

After officiating three games at the World Cup later that year, Tello was sent halfway across the world to be one of the referees at Euro 2024.

This will be Tello's second game of this tournament, having previously taken charge of Canada's 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

His countrymen Juan Pablo Belatti and Gabriel Chade will be shuttling up and down the sides of the pitch with flags in hand.

Colombian Alexander Guzman is the fourth official, and his compatriot Alexander Guzman is on hand as the reserve assistant referee.

Facundo Tello will take charge of South Africa vs South Korea — Facundo Tello looks like he enjoys trying for the reverse rainbow on the New York Times Connections game, then telling you about it (Image credit: Getty Images)

The VAR officials have not yet been assigned for this game.

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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.