FIFA appointed 52 referees, 88 assistants and 30 video officials for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Here’s the full slate of match officials, the notable names, and the new on-field rules they’re enforcing.
The Officials in Numbers
FIFA confirmed the final list of match officials on 9 April 2026. The selected officials work across all 16 tournament stadiums, mostly in national “trios” of a referee and two assistants.
| Confederation | Referees |
|---|---|
| UEFA (Europe) | 15 |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | 12 |
| CONCACAF (North & Central America) | 9 |
| AFC (Asia) | 8 |
| CAF (Africa) | 7 |
| OFC (Oceania) | 1 |
Europe’s UEFA supplies the most match officials. Oceania has just one — New Zealand’s Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh — while CONCACAF includes referees from all three host nations.
Referees by Region
Many of the world’s most recognisable referees made the cut. Here are notable names by region, including officials from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
| Region | Selected Referees |
|---|---|
| Europe | Szymon Marciniak (Poland), Anthony Taylor & Michael Oliver (England), François Letexier & Clément Turpin (France), Felix Zwayer (Germany), Maurizio Mariani (Italy), Alejandro Hernández (Spain) |
| South America | Facundo Tello & DarÃo Herrera (Argentina), Wilton Sampaio & Raphael Claus (Brazil) |
| North & Central America | César Arturo Ramos & Katia Itzel GarcÃa (Mexico), Tori Penso (United States) |
| Middle East & Asia | Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar), Khalid Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia), Omar Al Ali (UAE), Alireza Faghani (Australia), Ma Ning (China) |
| Africa | Jalal Jayed (Morocco), Amin Mohamed Omar (Egypt), Abongile Tom (South Africa) |
| Oceania | Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand) |
Each referee is backed by assistant referees from their own country, plus a separate pool of video assistant referees.
Names to Watch
Poland’s Szymon Marciniak returns after refereeing the 2022 World Cup final, making him one of the most experienced names on the list.
The 2026 edition also features a historic group of women officials:
- Katia Itzel GarcÃa (Mexico) — referee
- Tori Penso (United States) — referee
- Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua) — video assistant referee
Female assistant referees feature in several teams too.
Two officials dropped off the list before kick-off:
- Omar Abdulkadir Artan (Somalia) was removed after being refused US entry despite a valid visa; FIFA said it would pay him in full.
- Rob Dieperink (Netherlands), a VAR, was dropped after an arrest in England and replaced by France’s Willy Delajod.
FIFA names each match’s referee close to kick-off, so the official for the final near New York, and the semifinals in Dallas and Atlanta, will be among the last confirmed.
The New Rules in Play
This is the first World Cup played under a sweeping set of IFAB rule changes built to speed up play and improve player conduct. Referees are enforcing them from the group stage onward.
| New Rule | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Eight-second goalkeeper rule | Hold the ball longer than eight seconds and the opposing team gets a corner. The referee counts down the last five with a raised hand. |
| Captain-only protests | Only the team captain may approach the referee to question a decision. Others entering the protest zone risk a yellow card. |
| Five-second restarts | Goal kicks and throw-ins have a visible five-second countdown; delays hand a corner or possession to the opponent. |
| Ten-second substitutions | A substituted player must leave within ten seconds via the nearest touchline, or the team waits before the replacement enters. |
| Conduct red cards | Covering the mouth during a confrontation, or walking off the pitch in protest, now draws a red card. |
| One-minute treatment | An outfield player treated on the pitch must stay off for one minute after play restarts. |
| Cooling breaks | Roughly three-minute hydration breaks are built into each half for the summer heat, and feigned injuries for tactical breaks are discouraged. |
The Technology Behind the Whistle
FIFA’s technology programme debuts upgrades designed to make decisions faster and more transparent.
- Next-generation semi-automated offside: clear offsides are now sent straight to the on-field officials, rather than first to the video booth as in 2022.
- Referee body cameras: where allowed, referees wear a stabilised high-definition “ref cam” that feeds a first-person view to the broadcast.
- In-stadium VAR announcements: the referee’s microphone explains final review decisions to fans inside the ground, after trials at the Club World Cup.
- Expanded VAR: reviews now cover a wrong second yellow card, mistaken identity, and a corner awarded in clear error.
Featured image: Steindy (talk) 11:44, 19 June 2011 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Frequently Asked Questions
How does FIFA decide which referee takes each game?
FIFA’s referees committee assigns officials game by game, usually announcing them a day or two before kick-off. Appointments balance experience, performance and workload across the match schedule.
Can a referee officiate a match involving their own country?
No. FIFA does not appoint a referee to a game involving their own national team, to protect neutrality. The same applies to assistant referees and video officials.
Are video assistant referees different from the on-field referees?
FIFA named a separate pool of 30 video match officials for the booth. Some on-field referees also take VAR duties on other days, but the two roles are appointed separately.
Where can I see the referee for a specific match?
FIFA publishes the appointed officials shortly before each game — useful if you’re holding tickets and want to know who is in charge on the day.
Sources
- FIFA — Final List of Match Officials, FIFA World Cup 2026
- FIFA Innovation — Faster Offside Decisions and Referee Body Cams
- ESPN — World Cup 2026 Referees: Complete List of Officials and VAR Teams
- NPR — New Rules for World Cup Referees
- Al Jazeera — Which Football Rule Changes Will Be Implemented at the World Cup
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