Sunday, 21 June 2026

2026 FIFA WC - Referee appointments for Group Stage starting from Match #49

Appointments of match officials at 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage. 



Match #49
Group C
25 June 2026, 00:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
SCOTLAND - BRAZIL 
Referee: César Ramos MEX 
Assistant Referee 1: Alberto Morin MEX
Assistant Referee 2: Marco Bisguerra MEX
Fourth Official:  Espen Eskas NOR 
Reserve AR: Jan Erik Engan NOR 
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

Match #50
Group C
25 June 2026, 00:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
MOROCCO - HAITI 
Referee: Danny Makkelie NED 
Assistant Referee 1: Hessel Steegstra NED
Assistant Referee 2: Jan de Vries NED 
Fourth Official:  Joao Pinheiro POR
Reserve AR: Bruno Jesus POR 
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

Match #51
Group B
24 June 2026, 21:00 CET
BC Place, Vancouver
SWITZERLAND - CANADA 
Referee:  Ramon Abatti BRA 
Assistant Referee 1: Danilo Manis BRA
Assistant Referee 2: Rafael Alves BRA 
Fourth Official:  Kevin Ortega PER
Reserve AR: Michael Orue PER 
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

Match #52
Group B
24 June 2026, 21:00 CET
Lumen Field, Seattle
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - QATAR 
Referee:  Jesus Valenzuela VEN 
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN 
Fourth Official:  Yusuke Araki JPN 
Reserve AR: Jun Mihara JPN 
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

Match #53
Group A
25 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
CZECH REPUBLIC - MEXICO 
Referee:  Yael Falcon Perez ARG 
Assistant Referee 1: Maximiliano Del Yesso ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Facundo Rodriguez ARG 
Fourth Official:  Cristian Garay CHI 
Reserve AR: José Retamal CHI
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

Match #54
Group A
25 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTH KOREA 
Referee: Facundo Tello ARG 
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Pablo Belatti ARG
Assistant Referee 2: Gabriel Chade ARG 
Fourth Official:  Andrés Rojas COL
Reserve AR: Alexander Guzman COL 
Video Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :

19 comments:

  1. Big charge that Morocco will face the Netherlands in the next round

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  2. So I guess this means Pinheiro, Garay and Eskas won't appear again.

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  3. Does it mean that being appointed as a fourth official basically rules Pinheiro and Eskas out of getting another game as referee?

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    Replies
    1. Hard to say. It seems very unlikely that they get another game on MD3, but a R32 could still be possible.
      Especially for Eskas it would be quite harsh to limit him to one game before he even did that. Also Garay and Pinheiro weren't that bad.
      The question really is, whether FIFA wants to give two games to most referees or rather focus on their top 20-25 in the KO stage.

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  4. If Eskås' appointment as fourth official means he won't have another match before even finishing the first, it confirms that meritocracy simply doesn't exist at FIFA.

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    Replies
    1. Meritocracy means not only merits in the tournament. It also means merits before the tournament.

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  5. Hard to believe that fourth officials have ended as main referees, it's impossible if we look at Pinheiro, that is expected to geat at least another game.

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  6. Not a good sign for Makkelie to be appointed in a not very important game. Haiti has no chance to qualify for the next round, while Morocco is for sure qualified even if they finished the group stage on the third place

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    Replies
    1. This ! Quite surprised especially when insiders have been saying he has been ' promised the final '

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    2. I’ve not heard any insider stating Makkelie is promised the final, something FIFA obviously would not (never) do. Only the blog’s troll of cynism said so.
      Apart from that, if it would be true, exactly for the reason of less importance/spotlights a convenient (second) game for a prospective final referee ;)

      Delete
  7. Surprising to have no UEFA referee on RSA-KOR with not so many available games for UEFA referees on MD3 (if confed neutrality holds). And Tello could have been useful e.g. in JAP-SWE.

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  8. Well, congrats all officiating teams on appoitments, about Makkelie, trust me guys,every game matters, and games that are predicted as easiest one, are always hardest for officiating,so the good test for Makkelie!

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  9. What an honor, Cesar Ramos will referee Scotland.

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  10. Katia Garcia is missing from appointments since her game on Friday.
    So either there are health problems or she is prepared for a game in the middle.

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    Replies
    1. I also miss Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh in matches 42 - 54. I know I'm being really persistent about this topic, but I still think that with over 100 matches (including actually meaningless ones on the last group matchday), at least one (= less than 1%) should be given to the OFC.

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  11. I’m wondering why the committee wants to take a risk with appointing a ref whose home country can be a potential opponent of one of the teams he is refereeing.

    For all the referees we know that they are not influenced by this fact. But the rest of the soccer family isn’t.

    In this case it is Makkelie, but it could be somebody else. Are there no other options for this match? Anybody who has a clue why committee would appoint like this?

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