Women Referees at the FIFA World Cup: Progress Is Real, But Slow

Women Referees at the FIFA World Cup: Progress Is Real, But Slow

Women are now officiating at the men’s FIFA World Cup, but a major barrier remains: no woman has ever served as the center referee for a knockout match. While female referees have taken the field during group-stage games in both 2022 and 2026, FIFA has yet to appoint a woman to lead an elimination match. Research into why progress is slow reveals deep-rooted challenges, but the steps taken so far show real change is happening.

How Rare Are Women Referees at the World Cup?

The numbers tell a clear story. For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA selected just six women as match officials—two referees, three assistant referees, and one video match official. That’s only 3.5% of the tournament’s 170 officials. Women remain a tiny minority on the field.

Gradual Progress Since 2022

• In 2022, only one match featured a female center referee, and it was a group-stage game.
• In 2026, three matches had female center referees (Tori Penso and Katia Itzel García).
• More women served as assistant referees in 2026 than in 2022.
• An all-female on-field officiating team appeared once in 2022 and twice in 2026.

Yet female center referees have still only been assigned to group-stage matches. The referees for the 2026 final and third-place match will be announced this week.

What Research Says About Barriers Women Referees Face

It’s not surprising that women have struggled to break into the men’s World Cup. The players are men, the fans are mostly men (in the U.S., 71% of fans are men), the coaches are overwhelmingly men, and for decades, officials were all men. When women are given authority in what is seen as a “men’s game,” backlash often follows.

Social Media Reactions: Mostly Negative

Researchers analyzed over 22,000 Twitter comments about female referees from the 2022 World Cup. Only 8% of comments were supportive. The rest were classified as sexist, exclusionary, or insulting. Examples include:

• “Are we sure these women know anything about football?”
• “I thought she was going to pee her pants trying to keep up with the players.”
• “A woman among 22 men. Not fit for football.”
• “What are you doing in the field? Fuck off!”

These comments aren’t just online noise. Researchers argue that constant ridicule and sexist treatment can discourage women from becoming or staying referees.

The Double Standard: Every Mistake Carries Extra Weight

Previous research found that female referees in men’s soccer face a double standard. A questionable call by a man is seen as an individual error. The same call by a woman is blamed on her gender. As one official put it: “Every decision you make you’ve made because you’re female, not because you’re a referee.” Studies show women in male-dominated jobs are judged more harshly for mistakes than men.

Stereotypes About Decisiveness

Another barrier is the stereotype that women are less decisive than men. Being decisive is critical for a referee. Yet research finds no evidence that women are less capable of making quick decisions.

Women Officials Lag Behind in Other Sports Too

The slow progress isn’t unique to FIFA. Across professional sports, women are dramatically underrepresented among officials.

NHL, MLB, NBA, and NFL

• NHL: Never had a female on-ice official in a regular-season game.
• MLB: Jen Pawol became the first woman to umpire a regular-season game in 2025 and the first behind home plate. She remains the only woman to umpire in a regular-season MLB game and is still a call-up umpire. No women are on MLB’s full-time umpire list.
• NBA: Has had female referees since 1997. Currently, nine of 74 full-time officials are women or non-binary.
• NFL: First female official hired in 2015. Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate a Super Bowl in 2021. Still, women are rare.

Interestingly, men do not face the same barriers in women’s sports. Men make up a significant portion of WNBA referees. But for the Women’s World Cup, FIFA chooses only female on-field referees.

The Progress Is Real

Even though it’s slow, progress is real. Just four years ago, no woman had ever officiated a men’s World Cup match. Today, women are making calls on the field. That’s a big change. Research on women entering male-dominated professions shows that representation changes perceptions. The more fans see women officiating major matches, the less unusual it becomes.