AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File

Yuichi Nishimura had the distinction of being the referee of the first World Cup match of 2014. He also made headlines when he awarded a controversial penalty to Brazil in the opening game.

The 42-year-old said in his introductory video on the FIFA website that he recognized the expectations for the World Cup referees were very high. “I’m mostly looking forward to meet a lot of expectations,” he said.

Nishimura became an international FIFA referee in 2004. He handled four games for the 2010 World Cup and his most notable moment was when he sent Felipe Melo off the field for stamping on Arjen Robben.

In 2012 he was named the AFC referee of the year and is one of five referees retained from the 2010 World Cup.

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