2010 World Cup Underway: AFC Match Officials Start

On the first day of the World Cup, the first and second matches were officiated by referee trios from the AFC.

The first match between hosts South Africa and Mexico was officiated by Ravshan IRMATOV (Uzbekistan) and assistant referees Rafael ILYASOV (UZB) and Bahadyr KOCHKAROV (KGZ).

[Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov. Pic courtesy AFP]

The second match between France an Uruguay was officiated by Yuichi NISHIMURA (Japan) and assistant referees Toru SAGARA (JPN) and Hae Sang JEONG (KOR).

[Referee Yuichi Nishimura checks which card he has shown ... and then follows it up with a red card (below)]

[The first red card of the 2010 World Cup went to Uruguay's Lodeiro for a second caution]