MOSCOW, June 12 (Sputnik) - Argentine referee Nestor Pitana, who will officiate the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening match between Saudi Arabia and Russia, will be ready to withstand the pressure from spectators, Head of the Russian Football Union’s Referees Committee, Nikolai Levnikov, told Sputnik Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, FIFA announced that Pitana, who officiated four matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and his assistant referees Juan Pablo Belatti and Hernan Maidana will take charge of Thursday's opener.
"Nestor Pitana is an experienced referee, he worked at the last World Cup. It's important that Russia’s match will be officiated by a referee from a country with a serious premiership. He will be ready for the pressure from the spectators and players," Levnikov said.
He added that the referees from Argentina will look to let the game flow and will not whistle for innocuous challenges.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held in 11 Russian cities between June 14 and July 15, with the host nation set to play Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay in Group A.
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