Karasev was the only Russian referee picked to officiate at the tournament. He will be assisted throughout the competition by his assistant referees - Tikhon Kalugin and Anton Averyanov, who are both from Russia.

"If Sergey is here it means he's good enough to be here. We did a lot, we worked a lot, we prepared for many, many months for this tournament. I'm confident. And I'm sure this World Cup in Russia will be great," Rosetti said.

The FIFA World Cup will take place between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums across 11 cities of the country.