It's also sort of just standard practice internationally, from FIFA downward. UEFA does this, too. I'm not sure of the other confederations, but I imagine there isn't much deviation. Look at the FIFA VMO lists. The US only has 3 VMOs who are also ARs (Atkins, Mayo, Nesbitt). Mexico has none. England has none. Germany has none. Etc., etc. If we've reached the point where international bodies are only assigning qualified international FIFA VMOs (and I think we have), then the list is mostly down to referees or former referees. The idea of a specialist AR for VMO duties exists only at the World Cups, I think--and even then, maybe not the youth ones (I genuinely can't recall)?
Really seems like a World Cup thing, mostly, yeah. PRO is very much an outlier, as they've always been really.
Hey, hi - long time reader, first time poster. Thought I would help and share the CCC assignments for Round 1... CONCACAF Champions Cup Round 1, Leg 1 Feb 3, 2026 Forge FC VS Tigres REF: Armando Villarreal AR1: Cory Richardson AR2: Nick Uranga 4th: Ekaterina Koroleva VAR: Chris Penso AVAR: Tatiana Guzmán Olimpia VS Club America REF: Ismail Elfath AR1: Corey Parker AR2: Kyle Atkins 4th: Rosendo Mendoza VAR: Allen Chapman AVAR: Benjamin Whitty San Diego FC VS Pumas REF: Mario Escobar AR1: Luis Aroldo Ventura Chacón AR2: Humberto Noel Panjoj Chitay 4th: Sergio Armando Reyna Moller VAR: Benjamin Pineda AVAR: Anthony Bravo Feb 4, 2026 Xelaju VS Monterrey REF: Filip Dujic AR1: Gerard-Kader Lebuis AR2: Jose Da Silva 4th: Victor Rivas VAR: Benjamin Whitty AVAR: Chris Penso Vancouver FC VS Cruz Azul REF: José Raúl Torres Rivera AR1: Pedro Figueroa Ocasio AR2: Jairo Morales García 4th: Ricangel Emilio De Leça VAR: Tatiana Guzman AVAR: Allen Chapman
CONCACAF Champions Cup Round 1, Leg 2 Feb 10, 2026 Pumas VS San Diego FC REF: Héctor Said Martínez Sorto AR1: Walter Enrique López Ramos AR2: Christian Jesús Ramírez Soto 4th: José Waldir García Meléndez VAR: Tatiana Guzman AVAR: Jesus Alberto Montero Tigres VS Forge FC REF: Juan Gabriel Calderón Pérez AR1: Juan Carlos Mora Araya AR2: William Andrés Arrieta Barrantes 4th: Josué David Ugalde Aguilar VAR: David Gomez Araya AVAR: JC Rivero Feb 11, 2026 Club America VS Olimpia REF: Drew Fischer AR1: Micheal Barwegen AR2: Lyes Arfa 4th: Rubiel Vazquez VAR: JC Rivero AVAR: Jesus Montero Fuentes Monterrey VS Xelaju REF: Pierre-Luc Lauziere AR1: Stefan Tanaka-Freundt AR2: Chris Elliot 4th: Rosendo Mendoza VAR: Edvin Jurisevic AVAR: Tatiana Guzman Feb 12, 2026 Cruz Azul VS Vancouver FC REF: Tori Penso AR1: ? AR2: ? 4th: ? VAR: ? AVAR: ?
When the format of the tournament changed after 2023, I think the likelihood of a US referee ever going decreased to near zero. It's just not needed for their international progression. And it comes during MLS preseason. You think Mendoza wants to be reffing 16 year old El Salvadorans v Cubans or, say, Miami v. Cincinnati?
with mls moving to a regular calendar similar to Europe for 2027 season (I believe).. could you see that changing?
No idea. I mean I didn't even notice the CONCACAF U17s changed until I just looked. I just don't think these are that prestigious of appointments for an MLS (or Liga Mx) referee. They are 16 year old kids. And you're reffing second- and third-rate CONCACAF nations. With *lots* of lopsided matches (go look at GD in some of the groups!). It's truly a youth tournament. If you're an established FIFA, you aren't even being considered anyway. Does a rising FIFA like a Mendoza or somewhat recently risen one such as Freemon need/want to go? I don't know about the "want." Maybe it would be cool if it was an actual tournament setting but now it's spread out with different groups in different locations and it's really just a glorified one or two match assignment. There's no knockout stage. Do they "need" it? No. A US or Mexican FIFA in CONCACAF is going to establish themselves on senior and club matches; they'll get their shot there eventually and don't need to prove themselves here now that they have the badge (these guys already went to these sort of tournaments to get the badge, after all). The more I look at it and think about it... if the format stays like this, I don't think you'll see any established MLS referees on this. You don't need to do Jamaica v Cayman U17s to get the Jamaica v Cayman senior-level assignment.
it’s why I asked, because I have noticed an uptick of concacaf showing up to mlsnext events and other American youth tournaments.
Beyond seeing it as an advancement pathway, the MLS Next events are a pretty solid money maker for a lot of CONCACAF referees considering exchange rates.
I’m not sure how much they’re paid in US dollars. My understanding speaking with them is that they’re paid a flat daily rate set by fifa. Like a retainer I have my own feelings on this. I think it’s cool to see how different officials referee in different parts of the world. Also interesting to see the unique styles of play we are afforded from having the little microcosms and diversity we have with such a sprawling nation.
Not privvy to the compensation here, but I do know that appointments to CONCACAF tournament events (or, for that matter, FIFA events) can be absolute windfalls for many of the Central American and Caribbean officials. There's no sliding scale and the compensation is supposed to make it all worth the while of, say, someone from Miami or New York who is on an MLS salary. So you can imagine what it might mean for a Nicaraguan AR to be appointed to Gold Cup, for example. This is a major reason why some of the Gold Cup rosters have been bloated in the past. Long way of saying: don't sleep on that flat daily rate. I understand the feeling and long ago used to have it to at least some extent. But when you pause to think that these FIFA referees are traveling to your country to work in the same tournament that you might be covering as, say, a two-year Regional Referee... it should put things in perspective about the wide range of quality that a white badge can indicate.
Brings me back to a current NZ referee who's wearing the white badge as late as 2025, who was barely a Regional when he lived in TX. He told me himself he'd still be a Regional on the path towards National if he were still living in the States
This got me wondering: would it be fair to say that a number of US Soccer National Referees might reach FIFA status if they were part of a different federation (outside of Europe and South America)? Not every white badge is necessarily the same when you consider the depth of the referee pool in each country. As @MassReff has pointed out before, transferring between federations doesn’t always equate to the same level because referees develop within the environment and leagues they work in. So hypothetically, if you took ten current US National Referees and placed them in other federations, would some of them end up wearing the white badge? My assumption is that in certain regions — for example parts of OFC and CONCACAF (excluding perhaps New Zealand) ... that could very well be the case. At the end of the day, referees are largely shaped by the competitions they work, so the level of the domestic league structure inevitably influences the pathway.
Keylor Herera (CRC) on Philly-America. Quite good reaction by him to whistle the play dead when the America GK went down in pain with the ball at his feet (and no one in the immediate vicinity) after apparently suffering a serious injury. I think this was within the spirit of the game, and it needs to be a quick decision, because there's no legal justification for ruling out a goal afterwards if the referee doesn't stop play in real time.
Penalty and second yellow by Fischer to the Monterrey goalkeeper, and all substitutions have been made. Field player in goal for the pen and the last ten minutes. Definitely correct decision, missed the ball and recklessly collided with his arm to the opponent's face.
Per Refereeing World blog Philadelphia Union – Club America Referee: Keylor Herrera CRC Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Fernández CRC Assistant Referee 2: Danny Sojo CRC Fourth Official: José García SLV VAR: Benjamín Pineda CRC AVAR: Yasith Monge CRC Monterrey – Cruz Azul Referee: Drew Fischer CAN Assistant Referee 1: Micheal Barwegen CAN Assistant Referee 2: Lyes Arfa CAN Fourth Official: Guido González USA VAR: José Rivero USA AVAR: Allen Chapman USA Los Angeles FC – LD Alajuelense Referee: Víctor Cáceres MEX Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Sánchez MEX Assistant Referee 2: Jonathan Gómez MEX Fourth Official: Jorge Camacho MEX VAR: Diana Pérez MEX AVAR: Erick Miranda MEX
Walter Lopez is a terrific referee and it’s a shame he’ll never go to the World Cup. He’s performed great in a very challenging game. Sidenote: I actually think that second penalty doesn’t need to be reviewed to be upgraded from a second yellow to a straight red. To me, the goalkeeper still has a chance to save the ball and the handball is therefore not a denial of an obvious goal. But that last replay made me second guess myself there, so I’ll give it a look again later if possible. If anyone has a link to all the replays, please share.
Pet peeve: there should never be in game review of 2CT vs straight red. It has nothing to do with thr game being played. Should be post game review by competition authorities. Why are we delaying a game unnecessarily?
Particularly so because, in situations like this where things are heated, it gives the agrieved team a false sense that the call might be overturned, rather than upgraded. Better just to avoid that altogether. For what it's worth, I do think it is a clear straight red, though; not sure why a referee would default to the yellow on a play like that. Also, I know in a match like this it's a nit-pick, but the lack of a dissent card to Tverskov at 45+4 in unfortunate. He's aggressive to Lopez and in his face immediately, he does the monitor signal, he literally yells at him and tells him (by pointing!) to go leave the field and review it, he claps at him, and he does the gesticulating talking mimic. I mean, he's committed four or five different types of dissent at once. I understand not putting fuel on the fire with the captain of an already irritated team and I'm not able to confidently say I'd give that yellow in that moment in that context... but in the cold light of day, that has to be given. And many referees can learn that by watching stuff like this back.