Refereeing World

According to online sources, all referees selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will receive large financial compensation. Each match official (Referee, Assistant Referee, Video Match Official, Fourth Official, Reserve AR) will be paid a participation bonus plus match fe...

Speaking for the first time since he was denied entry to the United States, Mr. Artan told The New York Times that officiating a World Cup game would have been a symbol for all Somalis of what they could achieve in spite of their country’s difficulties. “I am very, very disappointed,” Mr. Artan said in a telephone interview from Istanbul, the city he had been flown to after he w...

Sandro Ricci is leaving his role as PRO’s Manager of Senior Match Officials later this month to join Confederação Brasileira de Futebol’s (CBF) Refereeing Commission as president. CBF set up an organization similar to PRO in April, and Ricci returns to his homeland to manage the next stage of the development program to professionalize Brazilian referees.

Omar Artan, who was set to be the first Somalian to referee at the World Cup finals, has been dropped from the list of officials after he was denied entry to the United States. Artan, the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) men's referee of the year, was barred from entering the country at Miami International Airport and is currently in Turkey.