Referee Tori Penso during a training session before the FIFA World Cup. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Referee Tori Penso during a training session before the FIFA World Cup. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Czechia will lock horns with South Africa in Group A of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Atlanta Stadium in the United States on Thursday.
Both teams were handed reverses in their opening fixtures and must earn their first points in order to remain in contention for the round of 32.
FIFA confirmed that Tori Penso of the United States will officiate the Group A match, making her just the second woman referee to take charge of a men’s FIFA World Cup match.
The 39-year-old has been a FIFA referee since 2021.
In 2020, Penso became the first woman to lead an all-female officiating team in a men’s competition organized by CONCACAF — a FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
In 2023, she officiated the FIFA Women’s World Cup final between Spain and England.
Penso is not a strict referee. She has taken charge of 109 games until now across all competitions and brandished 423 yellow and just four red cards.
She officiated nine games in the Major League Soccer last season and gave 37 yellow cards, averaging around four per game.
Published on Jun 18, 2026
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。