Yuichi Nishimura
Career. Nishimura was the only Asian referee selected to officiate at the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana along with assistant referees Toru Sagara from Japan and Jeong Hae-Sang from South Korea. Nishimura refereed the final of the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup between Inter Milan and TP Mazembe. On 13 November 2010, Nishimura was the referee for the final match of the 2010 AFC Champions League Final, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma vs. Zob Ahan, at the National Stadium in Tokyo. Nishimura officiated at the 2007 and 2011 Asian Cups. At the 2012 Men's Olympic Football  Tournament, Nishimura officiated the group stage matches between Brazil and Belarus and host Great Britain and Uruguay. Nishimura was appointed to the second leg of the 2014 AFC Champions League Final in which Al-Hilal FC faced Western Sydney Wanderers FC. The match ended in a 0-0 upset, which saw the Western Sydney Wanderers crowned AFC champions courtesy of their 1-0 victory in the first leg. However, he gained heavy criticism over his mistakes. Which, some say, stripped Al Hilal from the cup. 2010 FIFA World Cup. Nishimura was preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World  Cup. He was the referee for the Uruguay against France game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, along with fourth official Joel Aguilar and assistant referees Jeong Hae-Sang, and Toru Sagara. Nishimura produced the first red card of the tournament, when he sent Uruguay midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro off the field for two yellow cards. During the first quarter-final game between Brazil and the Netherlands at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Nishimura sent off Felipe Melo of Brazil in the 73rd minute of the game. He was the 4th official for the final match of the World  Cup, Netherlands vs. Spain. 2014 FIFA World Cup. Nishimura was chosen by FIFA to referee the opening game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Croatia. With this, he became only the third Japanese referee to officiate at two FIFA World Cups, after Shizuo Takada and Toru Kamikawa. In the match, Nishimura became the first referee to use vanishing spray at a World Cup finals, as well as to have access to goal-line technology. The game ended with a 3–1 victory for hosts Brazil. Despite significant criticism, Nishimura was appointed to two other games in the tournament  as the fourth official: the Group E match between Honduras and Ecuador (2–1 win for Ecuador), and the third place play-off match between Brazil and the Netherlands (3–0 win for the Netherlands). 2014 AFC Champions League. He officiated the second leg of the 2014 AFC Champions League Final between Al Hilal FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC, the match ended 0-0 but the Wanderers won the championship as they had scored a goal in the first leg in Parramatta. His officiating, that included not awarding Al Hilal any penalty kicks for potential fouls saw Al Hilal later raise  a complaint to the AFC, and a club statement described the match lead by Yuichi Nishimura as "a black spot in the history of Asian football". The complaint was essentially ignored by the AFC. Awards. Nishimura was chosen as the J. League Referee of the Year in 2009 and 2010. In 2012, he was named Best Men's Referee of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation.