COPA AMÉRICA

Who is Piero Maza, the referee for Argentina - Canada at Copa América 2024?

The Chilean match official will take charge of the semi-final and he has a famous recent history with the Argentinian national side.

RICARDO MORAESREUTERS

Canada have been one of the stories of this summer’s Copa América, upsetting the odds to make it to the final four of the expanded pan-continental tournament. In the semi-final they take on holders Argentina and have a chance to make history if they can overcome the towering odds.

On Monday it was confirmed that Chilean official Piero Maza will be the referee for the game, the latest Argentina fixture under his oversight. Last year he officiated a controversial 1-0 win for Argentina over old rivals Brazil, in which Brazilian midfielder Joelinton was sent off.

He also oversaw the Finalissima, a meeting between the South American and European champions, in June 2022. Argentina stormed to a 3-0 win over Italy at Wembley Stadium

Piero Maza has extensive experience in his native Chile.JONNATHAN OYARZUN/PHOTOSPORT

Where is Piero Maza from?

The 39-year-old match official was born in Santiago, Chile in 1984 and has risen to become one of his nation’s most respected referees. He was appointed to the Chilean Primera División for the 2014/15 season and was added to FIFA’s International Referees List in 2018.

His first high profile game came in November 2018, when he was named the assistant VAR official for the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals first leg between rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. Crowd violence and injuries to Boca Juniors players ensured that the second leg had to be moved to Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu, one of the most ignominious incidents in the competition’s rich history.

The 2022 Finalissima meeting between Argentina and Italy was Maza’s first senior international posting as a referee.

Who are Darío Herrera’s assistant referees? Who is the VAR?

Piero Maza will be joined by six of his compatriots to complete the full seven-man refereeing team. Caludio Urratia and Jose Retamal will serve as Maza’s assistants, while Cristian Garay and Juan Serr will be the fourth and fifth officials.

Copa América is utilising VAR technology and Wednesdays game will be officiated remotely by Juan Lara and Edson Cisternas.

The 2024 Copa América semi-final between Argentina and Canada will be played at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on Wednesday, July 10 2024. The action will began at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT. Viewers in the US can watch the game on Fox Network, TUDN USA, Univisión and ViX, while you can also stream the action on fuboTV.

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