World Cup 2022 referees

The 2022 World Cup referees and assistants lead the football matches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

There are 36 referees taking part in the 2022 World Championship. For the 2014 edition, 25 referees were called up and in 2018 26 referees led the games.

Referees, assistant referees, fourth officials and VARs for the World Cup in Qatar are designated by FIFA on a match-by-match basis. The leaders will be selected from the international list and may not lead matches from their own country's group.

There will be a reserve umpire for each match. If a referee or flagger is unable to whistle/flag the game, he is replaced by the fourth official.

English referees at the 2022 World Cup

There are 6 Englishmen on the list of World Cup referees, namely

  • Michael Oliver,
  • Anthony Taylor,
  • Simon Bennet,
  • Gary Beswick,
  • Adam Nunn and
  • Stuart Burt.

Women referees at the World Cup in Qatar

For the first time in the history of the World Cup, six female arbitrators have been selected to lead the matches.

Stéphanie Frappart (France), Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda) and Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) are the female referees at the World Cup in Qatar. They are assisted by assistants Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Díaz Medina (Mexico) and Kathryn Nesbitt (USA).

Years ago, FIFA started having official men's matches run by women. In 2022, the level will be high and constant enough to participate in the highest attainable in the football world.

VAR at the World Cup in Qatar

A team of 24 video referees will be in Qatar to assist the people on the field with technical support.

VARs will also be present at the tournament. The video referee made his debut at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

At the time of the previous World Cup, only Europe and South America had a VAR, but now VARs are also present from Asia, Africa and North America.

Training, courses and health of the referees

The umpires are selected by FIFA and must undergo special training and courses in the months leading up to kick-off. The first seminars will start in the summer.

During these meetings, videos are viewed and analysed. Competition situations are also discussed and simulated.

Tailor-made individual programs are completed with regard to health and fitness. The health, mental health and technical ability of each ref is closely monitored.

Referee for the World Cup final

The final is the crowning glory for every referee. Every leader dreams of being able to whistle the final battle once in his life.

A good performance from the home country stands in the way of reaching the final for a referee. In fact, the chances of whistling a World Cup final diminish as a country from the same continent goes far.

The 2018 final was whistled by Argentinian Nestor Pitana, with Dutchman Björn Kuipers acting as fourth official.

List of referees for the 2022 World Cup

The final list of referees for the 2022 World Cup was released by FIFA on Thursday 19 May 2022.

On that list are 36 referees, 69 assistants and 24 VARs. This list has been compiled in collaboration with the six international football associations based on quality and performance in major tournaments and national competitions.

View the full list of umpires, assistants and video referees for the 2022 World Cup.

Date published: 23-02-2022 | Date updated: 02-10-2024 | Author:

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The 2022 World Cup referees and assistants direct the football matches at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. FIFA selects the referees.


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