WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINALS : Hungarian to Referee the Final : Soccer: Sandor Puhl gets the honor after working Italy-Spain quarterfinal.

Potentially, the best thing about Sunday’s World Cup final, from an official’s standpoint, is that Hungarian referee Sandor Puhl will be forgotten by Monday.

Of course, there is always the worst-case scenario: Disaster might strike and he could join the rueful duo of Edgardo Codesal Mendez of Mexico and Ali Ben Naceur of Tunisia in the World Cup referee’s wing in the Hall of Dishonor.

Mendez was heavily criticized for his officiating in the 1990 World Cup final, in which he red-carded two Argentines, and Ben Naceur was derided for failing to see Maradona’s “hand of God” goal in the 1986 quarterfinal game between Argentina and England.

Now there’s Puhl. He was plucked out of a pool of 24 candidates to officiate Sunday’s final between Italy and Brazil at the Rose Bowl, it was announced Friday by the referees committee of FIFA, soccer’s governing body.

For Puhl, who turned 39 on Thursday, the assignment was like a late birthday present. For the chosen few, even being at the World Cup is the pinnacle of an officiating career.

To be the referee in a championship game can’t even be compared to working a Super Bowl, according to American referee Arturo A. Angeles, an engineer who lives in Temple City and worked in the World Cup’s early play.

“No, it is more than that,” Angeles said. “You figure how many World Cups have there been and how many have been the referee for the final.

“This is the ultimate for a referee. There’s the opening game of the World Cup and then there’s the final.”

Puhl had not refereed in a World Cup before this tournament. He began working on the international scene as a linesman in October, 1988, and moved to refereeing in 1989. He has worked in European Cup matches, UEFA Cup competitions and World Cup qualifying matches.

In 19 matches of refereeing before the World Cup, Puhl listed a February, 1993, friendly between Argentina and Denmark at Mar del Plata as his most difficult to work and an October, 1993, World Cup qualifying game between Argentina and Australia at Sydney as the most important.

“He’s worked major matches in different parts of the world and has an outstanding record, as far as the reports we’ve been given,” said David H. Will, chairman of FIFA’s referee committee.

“And, of course, at the end of the day, there’s his performance here at the World Cup.”

Puhl worked three first-round games--one involving Brazil--and already has weathered a controversy from the Italy-Spain quarterfinal match. Late in the match, he missed an elbow thrown by Italian Mauro Tassotti that broke the nose of Luis Enrique of Spain.

There was no call on the play, but FIFA reviewed the incident and fined Tassotti $16,000 and suspended him.

But FIFA did not blame Puhl for missing the call because the foul was committed off the ball and the officials had turned their attention to another part of the field to follow the play.

The linesmen for the final will be Venancio Zarate Vazquez of Paraguay and Mohammed Fanaei of Iran.