Who is the referee for Spain vs Saudi Arabia?

Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium at the 2026 World Cup — Spain and Saudi Arabia will go head to head in Atlanta (Image credit: Getty Images)

The World Cup rolls on into its 11th day with European champions Spain set to take on Saudi Arabia.

Group H remains all square with all four sides on one point following Spain's goalless draw with Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia's 1-1 stalemate against Uruguay.

That means that unlike in some of the other groups, nothing can be definitively decided in this encounter - but either nation could take a big step towards qualification for the final 32 with a victory.

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The referee for Spain vs Saudi Arabia

Players of Spain pose for photo during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Cape Verde at Atlanta Stadium on June 15 — Spain will be hoping for a better showing against Saudi Arabia (Image credit: Getty Images)

Kick-off is set for midday local time (5pm UK time) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

FIFA have confirmed the eight officials who will take charge of the game, with Raphael Claus the main in the middle of it all.

Brazil's Raphael Claus is an experienced official — Tesco Value George Clooney Raphael Claus will take charge of Spain vs Saudi Arabia (Image credit: Getty)

The 46-year-old Brazilian has been on the FIFA list since 2015 and is held as one of South America's top officials.

Claus refereed the 2024 Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia in 2024, and is a regular presence in the Copa Libertadores, where he once oversaw a semi-final between River Plate and Boca Juniors. Fiesty.

This will be Claus' first game of this World Cup, but he did referee two games in the group stage of the 2022 edition: England's 6-2 win over Iran - which featured a contentious late penalty for Iran - and Morocco's 2-1 win over Canada.

Assisting Claus are not elves or reindeer, but simply two Brazilian linesmen in the shape of Danilo Manis and Rafael Alves.

Colombia's Andres Rojas will be in the dugout as the fourth official, and his countryman Alexander Guzman is the reserve official.

Saudi Arabia's Abdulelah al-Amri opened the scoring against Uruguay — Saudi Arabia went ahead against Uruguay but had to settle for a 1-1 draw (Image credit: Getty Images)

VAR duties will be led by another Colombian, Nicolas Gallo.

Erick Miranda is the assistant VAR, while Guillermo Pacheco is the support VAR. Both hail from Mexico.

What's the difference between assistant and support? The assistant helps makes decisions, the support coordinates communication and keeps an eye on the live feed while checks are ongoing. Dazzle your mates down the pub with that.

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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.