Michael Hester has retired from refereeing

Following an article in the NZ Herald, World Cup referee Michael Hester from New Zealand has finished his career as football referee.

Hester joined FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa where he officiated a Group B encounter between Greece and Korea Republic (0-2) along with Jan-Hendrik Hintz (NZL) and Tevita Makasini (TAH). [His perfomance in this World Cup match was rated by me in a detailed evaluation with the final mark 6,7.]

Furthermore, he was appointed for FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Nigeria in 2009 and FIFA Confed Cup 2009 where he got his most intense match of his career, as he said, when he refereed the duel between the United States and Egypt.
Moreover, he joined a FIFA Club WC (2010) and the Olympic Games in China PR in 2008.

"Refereeing is a hobby I've taken from council grounds to World Cup stadiums and it's been an amazing adventure", Hester said in the newspaper article.

The former naval officer said as well that "some other challenges" came up which means that refereeing "is not longer sustainable".

This probably means that Peter O'Leary will one of those referees who are more or less seeded to blow the whistle in Brazil in 2014. Norbert Hauata could be a safe bet for the 4th Official post.