Honduras vs. Mexico: Geiger confirmed as referee for Tuesday's match

The secretary of the Honduran National Football Federation (Fenafuth), José Ernesto Mejía, stated today that FIFA has ratified that the American referee Mark Geiger will officiate the match between Honduras and Mexico on Tuesday, despite the request for a change made by the Central American country.

"FIFA confirms Mark Geiger. They indicate that this referee is part of the list of referees for the qualifying rounds for the 2018 World Cup in Russia," Mejía announced on his official Twitter account.

Fenafuth had requested a change of Geiger to FIFA on August 29th, at the request of Colombian coach Jorge Luis Pinto, coach of the Honduran national team. Geiger previously refereed a controversial match between Mexico and Panama in the 2015 Gold Cup.

"Geiger was a disastrous referee in the Mexico-Panama match, and now they give him to Honduras. I don't know what the interest or what they are looking for is," said Pinto last Saturday before traveling to Cuernavaca, where the team is currently preparing for tomorrow's match against Mexico.

The American referee was heavily criticized in July 2015 for sanctioning two controversial penalties in favor of Mexico, who defeated Panama 2-1 in the Gold Cup semi-finals.

Honduras is second in Group A with seven points, while the Mexican national team is the leader with 15 points, already qualifying for the Hexagonal round, which will grant three direct tickets to the 2018 World Cup and a fourth place that will contest the playoffs against an Asian rival.

The Honduran team can advance to the Hexagonal, even if they lose against Mexico, as long as Canada does not score five goals against the already eliminated El Salvador.