The Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia will be officiated by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus.
Conmebol, South America’s governing body, made the announcement on Thursday.
Claus has been a senior international referee since 2015 and the 44-year-old is widely regarded in South America as one the continent’s top officials.
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It is not uncommon to see him assigned to some of South America’s top-billed matches at both the club and international level.
Claus officiated two group-stage matches at the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. The first was England versus Iran and the second was a match between Canada and Morocco.
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He previously officiated, without incident, the Copa America 2024 group-stage match between Mexico and Venezuela.
Claus’ appointment will become headline news in Argentina until Sunday’s final with they and Brazil fierce footballing rivals. Tensions and conspiracy theories rise anytime an official from either Brazil or Argentina is assigned to a match that features the two South American powerhouses.
At this edition of the Copa America, human error and poor decisions from video assistant referees has led to highly publicized criticism of the officiating by players, coaches and pundits.
Sunday’s final will be massive test for Claus and Conmebol as a whole, as several Copa America matches up to this stage have become increasingly physical.
(Richard Callis/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
