FIFA World Cup 2022 Referees: Match Officials List (Announced)

The FIFA World Cup is around the corner and we have majority of the 32 teams confirmed as qualified for the finals. Alongside teams, FIFA has announced the shortlist of world cup 2022 referees, assistants and VAR officials list which will be candidates to officiate games in this year’s tournament. All continent are represented in the shortlist with Europe/UEFA featuring the most numbers of referees.

Before we list all the candidates for 2022 World Cup match officials, we explain what does it take to officiate matches in pinnacle of football.

Key takeaways:

  • FIFA Referee and Referee grades
  • Referees World Cup selection Process
  • List of FIFA World Cup 2022 Match Officials.

FIFA Referee and Referees Grades

Referees at all competitions either local, national, or international are associated with FIFA. Referees that have achieved the highest qualification level only can officiate in international FIFA matches. All referees affiliated with FIFA have a designated grade and must advance in grade in order to referee higher-level matches. Only Grade 1 referees can serve as the head referee on formal international matches and Grade 2 referees as the linesman.

GradePositionRequirements
1International referee Must be 25 years old. Can officiate all World Cup and international matches as the head referee.
2International AR specialist.Must be 25 years old. Assistant referees to Grade 1 referees on international matches.
3National referee Must be 23 years old. Can officiate all games except formal FIFA international matches. Grade 3 indicates a referee’s readiness to be considered for international service.
4National referee Must be 23 years old. Can officiate all games through third division professional leagues; assistant referee for all games through second division professional.

Referees World Cup selection Process

Referees for FIFA World Cup are chosen under the FIFA regulation process. This Process lasted 3 years and the whole process is managed by FIFA Referee Assitance Program (RAP). By the end of the process, Referees are chosen in teams of 3.

  • One designated head referee and two assistant referees.

The selection process for FIFA World Cup 2022 begins with the club world cup in UAE when referees of the tournament were examined to see if they were ready to be candidates for 2022.

Based on referee performance, the FIFA Refereeing Department created a list of the 52 most elite referee teams. However, this list will be open until 2022. If a referee does not pass fitness tests or fails in another manner, he will no longer be considered.

List of FIFA World Cup 2022 Match Officials

The following is the list of referees that are selected for the 2022 World Cup by region.

ContinentsReferees







Europe
Michael Oliver
Anthony Taylor
Benoît Bastien
Clément Turpin
Daniel Siebert
Orel Grinfeeld
Daniele Orsato
Danny Makkelie
Szymon Marciniak
Artur Soares Dias
Ovidiu Hațegan
Sergei Karasyov
Srdan Jovanovic
Slavko Vincic
Carlos del Cerro Grande
Jesus Gil Manzano
Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz
Cuneyt Cakır


Africa
Rédouane Jiyed
Mustapha Ghorbal
Maguette Ndiaye
Omar Mohamed
Bamlak Tessema
OFC Abdelkader Zitouni

Asia
Adham Makhadmad
Ko Hyung-Jin
Ahmad Al-Kaf
Abdulrahman Al-Jassim


CONMEBOL
Fernando Rapallini
Gery Vargas
Raphael Claus
Roberto Tobar
Nicolas Gallo
Carlos Orbe
Mario Díaz de Vivar
When will FIFA announce the final list of 2022 World Cup referees ?

FIFA will announce the final list of referees 1 month before the world cup starts.

How many referees are in FIFA World Cup ?

FIFA usually have 36 match referees for entire tournament. They are accompanied by 63 assistant referees and another 36 VAR officials.

Do FIFA referees have other jobs as well ?

No. Referees on FIFA panel have full time job as FIFA referee. But they also have contract with local leagues and competitions.

Who is the best FIFA referee in 2022 ?

Damir Skomina won the Referee of the year award in 2021.