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.
| Grade | Position | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | International referee | Must be 25 years old. Can officiate all World Cup and international matches as the head referee. |
| 2 | International AR specialist. | Must be 25 years old. Assistant referees to Grade 1 referees on international matches. |
| 3 | National 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. |
| 4 | National 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.
| Continents | Referees |
|---|---|
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 |
FIFA will announce the final list of referees 1 month before the world cup starts.
FIFA usually have 36 match referees for entire tournament. They are accompanied by 63 assistant referees and another 36 VAR officials.
No. Referees on FIFA panel have full time job as FIFA referee. But they also have contract with local leagues and competitions.
Damir Skomina won the Referee of the year award in 2021.