10/18/2025 Atlanta United vs D.C. United Mercedes-Benz Stadium (6PM ET) Ref: Joshua Encarnacion - 1st whistle AR1: Nick Uranga AR2: Adam Garner 4th: Ismail Elfath VAR: Drew Fischer AVAR: Jeff Muschik Charlotte FC vs Philadelphia Union Bank of America Stadium (6PM ET) Ref: Tori Penso AR1: Kathryn Nesbitt AR2: Jason White 4th: Calin Radosav VAR: Kevin Stott AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert FC Cincinnati vs CF Montréal TQL Stadium (6PM ET) Ref: Timothy Ford AR1: Andrew Bigelow AR2: Kevin Klinger 4th: Sergii Demianchuk VAR: Younes Marrakchi - 200th VAR AVAR: Claudiu Badea Columbus Crew vs New York Red Bulls Lower.com Field (6PM ET) Ref: Marcos DeOliveira AR1: Cory Richardson AR2: Jeffrey Swartzel 4th: Ricardo Montero Araya VAR: David Barrie AVAR: TJ Zablocki Nashville vs Inter Miami GEODIS Park (5PM ET) Ref: Jon Freemon AR1: Ian McKay AR2: Nick Balcer 4th: Ricardo Fierro VAR: Ramy Touchan AVAR: Tom Supple New England Revolution vs Chicago Fire Gillette Stadium (6PM ET) Ref: Pierre-Luc Lauziere AR1: Lyes Arfa - 100th AR AR2: Tyler Wyrostek 4th: Sergii Boiko VAR: Kevin Terry Jr AVAR: Jonathan Johnson New York City FC vs Seattle Sounders Citi Field (6PM ET) Ref: Chris Penso AR1: Ryan Graves AR2: Gianni Facchini 4th: Guido Gonzales Jr VAR: Geoff Gamble AVAR: Craig Lowry Toronto FC vs Orlando City BMO Field (6PM ET) Ref: Fotis Bazakos AR1: Micheal Barwegen AR2: Mike Nickerson 4th: Lorenzo Hernandez VAR: Sorin Stoica AVAR: Robert Schaap Colorado Rapids vs Los Angeles FC Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (9PM ET) Ref: Rubiel Vazquez AR1: Jeremy Hanson AR2: Jose Da Silva 4th: Alexis Da Silva VAR: Kevin Stott AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert Sporting Kansas City vs Houston Dynamo Children’s Mercy Park (9PM ET) Ref: Nabil Bensalah AR1: Corey Parker AR2: Walt Heatherly 4th: Ismir Pekmic VAR: Carol Anne Chenard AVAR: Robert Schaap LA Galaxy vs Minnesota United Dignity Health Sports Park (9PM ET) Ref: Rosendo Mendoza AR1: Chris Wattam AR2: Diego Blas 4th: Matt Thompson VAR: Jorge Gonzalez AVAR: Craig Lowry Portland Timbers vs San Diego Providence Park (9PM ET) Ref: Victor Rivas AR1: Corey Rockwell AR2: Kevin Lock 4th: Malik Badawi VAR: Michael Radchuk AVAR: Joshua Patlak San Jose Earthquakes vs Austin FC PayPal Park (9PM ET) Ref: Filip Dujic AR1: Jeremy Kieso AR2: Gerard-Kader Lebuis 4th: Greg Dopka VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero AVAR: Fabio Tovar St Louis CITY vs Real Salt Lake Energizer Park (9PM ET) Ref: Armando Villarreal AR1: Kyle Atkins AR2: Eric Weisbrod 4th: Jair Marrufo VAR: Daniel Radford AVAR: Jonathan Johnson Vancouver Whitecaps vs FC Dallas BC Place (9PM PM) Ref: Allen Chapman AR1: Chris Elliott AR2: Felisha Mariscal 4th: Alain Ruch VAR: Edvin Jurisevic AVAR: TJ Zablocki
So MLS regular season over. MLS Cup referee favorite surely has to be Mendoza? Did the All-Star game. It's been a quite common occurrence that if you get the All-Star that you'll get MLS Cup Final (it's not always a guarantee) Any of the other plausible candidates either haven't done enough games (Dickerson or Elfath) or have probably done it too many times where they probably won't ever get it again (Villarreal and Chapman). I can't think of anyone else. Maybe Guido again in a break class in case of emergency situation?
Has back-to-back MLS Cup assignments ever happened? I think Armando had it 2 out of 3 years and maybe Kevin Stott did too. But not back-to-back years.
I don't think he's done enough games this year to be considered. Also, at this point, I don't think he's ever going to get it. He's been in the league now what? Almost 15 years? What would change this year from the previous 15 for him to get it? What's the longest someone's been in the league before they got their first MLS Cup whistle. I think he's creeping into Penso and Bazakos territory as a long time veteran who just will never get MLS Cup.
It looks like it's never happened. Kell and Chapman alternated every year from 2016 to 2019. Stott only whistled MLS Cup only twice (I surely thought he did a third time). But he has been on MLS Cup in some capacity a grand total of 6 times. Marrufo is the leader with three MLS Cups. I don't think we'll see anyone go above three whistles.
Geiger only having it once but going to two World Cups might be the weirdest stat. Of course, that came at a time when the international obligations started to stack up, which in turn meant he did fewer matches in the league. Plus he sort of shot to the top after 2011 and then retired shortly after 2018, so there really were only maybe 5-6 seasons where he might have been in the running. Similar thing could happen with Elfath. I guess the way our league is structured from a timing perspective makes it very challenging to give your WC referee MLS Cup often.
Lesson learned to not always trust Wikipedia. They have Toledo listed as the referee in 2005. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MLS_Cup_referees
I admittedly have not paid attention like in years past, but yeah I think Mendoza appears a top candidate. I think Fischer always lingers there. Maybe you're right about his overall prospects but he has been up and down within MLS and this is a WC year where he's been up and Elfath is unavailable, so maybe? I don't think Tori Penso is a candidate but it will be interesting to see how far she goes in the playoffs. Szpala probably would have been a candidate for something big if not injured. The interesting question for me is the trio of Vazquez, Rivas and Freemon. They are the US FIFAs who seem to have the least traction internationally at the moment. And Vazquez has been on the list for a decent time period at this point. Like I said, I haven't paid a ton of attention this year but I am interested to see where those three sort of fall in the overall pecking order right now and playoff assignments could be a good window.
Curious about this part. Vasquez has been on the USA FIFA list for 5 or 6 years now and he has the "least traction internationally at the moment". There are currently 8 USA male referees on the list. Is there a set number or quota that must be filled or is it based on the recommendation from US Soccer to earn the badge? Does someone that may have a shorter future risk getting removed from the list even if they are performing well, like a low-ceiling or high-ceiling situation? Like, say Rosendo Mendoza was going to get nominated and get the badge for 2026. Does someone have to come off the list for him to get put on the list? Or can he be added without anyone being removed? Also, does Szpala being injured and, likely, not being able to take the fitness test get him removed or is there an injured list he can be moved to until he's healthy? I see Salma Perez tore her ACL on the women's AR list. Same thing for her. Does she get removed, replaced, or added to an IR?
It's all up to the USSF Ref Com, mostly. There is some quota from FIFA for each nation and it was either 9 or 10 for a while but then there was a period where we never filled it. So who knows at the moment. The fact that the list went "gender-neutral" but is still easily filtered by gender adds to the mystery, too. It's also worth noting that sometimes people who don't have clear paths to tournament football take themselves off the list, too. You have obligations once you have the badge and sometimes being a 4th a few times a year in Central America isn't worth it when, otherwise, those would be your only breaks of the years. Personal priorities evolve and change. I'm not sure what the exact accommodation is with FIFA but Elfath's situation clearly shows you can be renominated and have that nomination accepted by FIFA without a current fitness test. I suspect Szpala will stay on the list.
Potentially people may think you're blind (even off the pitch). I updated the page based on PRO's info. https://proreferees.com/officials/mls-cup-roll-of-honor/
PRO themselves actually used to have an error even on this page. They had Steven Davidson at AR one year, but that never happened. It has since been corrected and should be wholly accurate.
Trying to figure out how Zaha’s second yellow isn’t a straight red for VC. I never really watched much of him in the Premier League, but has he always been like this? I’m quite surprised that he’s been one of the most sore-tempered players in MLS since he joined.
It sure looked like VC from what I've seen, but all the feeds right now have 2CT. Was there ever a replay that actually showed the card(s) being displayed? Are we 100% sure that yellow in her hand was issued to Zaha?
Maybe it was? We can’t see it on video. She has yellow out. I’m hoping it was yellow for the hand smack and red for retaliation. That makes the most sense to me. Very surprised if she doesn’t give red and more surprised if Stott doesn’t send it down if she didn’t. But I’ve been surprised before.
Yeah, 2CT. First one was pretty dumb, getting picked for the joint mass confrontation YC. Second one was obviously even dumber. If you watch Instant Replay of it at 2:21, it's an open palm brush past the base of the neck. The reaction is interesting, in that his opponent drops well after the contact is over. If Zaha hits him square on the neck, or it's a closed fist, obviously straight RC, but the brush pass is probably questionable enough VAR would be going with whatever was given on the field.