Professional Referee Organization
| File:Professional Referee Organization official logo.jpg | |
| Founded | November 2012 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States and Canada |
| Website | proreferees.com |
Professional Referee Organization (PRO) is the organization responsible for managing the referee and assistant referee program in professional soccer leagues in the United States and Canada, working alongside the USSF United States Soccer Federation, MLS Major League Soccer, CSA Canadian Soccer Association, NASL North American Soccer League, USL United Soccer League, NWSL National Women's Soccer League, and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The organization’s targets are to increase the quality of officiating in U.S. and Canadian professional leagues, develop more professional-quality officials at a younger age, and produce officials who will represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions.[1]
History
The U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer joined forces in 2012 to create the Professional Referee Organization and the aims for PRO is to develop a higher standard of officiating at a younger age and to produce referees who can represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions.
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said: “We’ve always understood that the development of referees is an important aspect to the growth of the game in the United States.
“PRO is another step toward the improvement and professionalization of our top referees. With the additional resources and funding provided by the formation of PRO, we will continue to build upon the progress we’ve already made.”
Heading up PRO is Peter Walton, a former referee who officiated just under 200 matches in the Premier League in England.
The Commissioner of the MLS, Don Garber, was delighted to get Walton on board.
He said: “MLS and U.S. Soccer proudly welcome PRO General Manager Peter Walton, who will utilize his exceptional experience as a referee and as an administrator, along with substantial resources, to help MLS achieve its vision of setting the worldwide standard in officiating.”
Walton has been involved with professional soccer since he joined the English Football League as an assistant referee in 1993 before advancing to the FIFA panel of Assistants in 1996, and then onto the Referees panel of the Football League in 1998. He accepted a full-time position as a referee in the Premier League in 2003 and, in 2007, completed the Advanced Course for Referee Instructors hosted by CONMEBOL and FIFA in Ecuador.
Walton commented: “I’m looking forward to the next stage of my career as the general manager of the Professional Referee Organization.
“The formation of PRO by U.S. Soccer and MLS provides a great opportunity to increase the development of referees and improve the overall quality of refereeing in the U.S. professional leagues. It’s a worthy challenge and I’m excited to get started.”[2]
MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year award
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- For a list of recipients before PRO's creation in 2012, see: MLS Referee of the Year Award.
Since PRO's inception:
| Year | Referee | Assistant Referee |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Silviu Petrescu | Ian Anderson |
| 2013 | Hilario Grajeda | Kermit Quisenberry |
| 2014[3] | Mark Geiger | Paul Scott |
| 2015[4] | Alan Kelly | Corey Parker |
| 2016[5] | Alan Kelly | Frank Anderson |
| 2017[6] | Allen Chapman | Corey Parker |
Referees
The Referees roster was updated on the PRO website ahead of the 2018 MLS season.[7]
- Fotis Bazakos
- Allen Chapman
- Ismail Elfath
- Drew Fischer
- Dave Gantar
- Mark Geiger
- Jorge Gonzalez
- Hilario Grajeda
- Juan Guzman
- Edvin Jurisevic
- Alan Kelly
- Jair Marrufo
- Chris Penso
- Silviu Petrescu
- Jose Carlos Rivero
- Nima Saghafi
- Ricardo Salazar
- Robert Sibiga
- Sorin Stoica
- Kevin Stott
- Baldomero Toledo
- Ted Unkel
- Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees
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Much like the Referees roster, the group of Assistant Referees was also updated ahead of the 2018 MLS season.[8]
- Frank Anderson
- Ian Anderson
- Kyle Atkins
- Claudiu Badea
- Peter Balciunas
- Andrew Bigelow
- Cameron Blanchard
- Eric Boria
- Philippe Briere
- Logan Brown
- Jose Da Silva
- Brian Dunn
- Gianni Facchini
- Joe Fletcher
- Richard Gamache
- Adam Garner
- Jeffrey Greeson
- Jeremy Hanson
- Jeff Hosking
- Jonathan Johnson
- Mike Kampmeinert
- Jeremy Kieso
- Kevin Klinger
- Kyle Longville
- Craig Lowry
- Peter Manikowski
- Apolinar Mariscal
- Eduardo Mariscal
- Felisha Mariscal
- Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
- CJ Morgante
- Jeff Muschik
- Matt Nelson
- Kathryn Nesbitt
- Corey Parker
- Brian Poeschel
- Kermit Quisenberry
- Corey Rockwell
- Mike Rottersman
- Danny Thornberry
- Nick Uranga
- Anthony Vasoli
- Chris Wattam
- Eric Weisbrod
- Jason White
- Adam Wienckowski
- TJ Zablocki
4th Officials
There are 7 officials working as Fourth Officials during the 2018 MLS season.[9]
- Alex Chilowicz
- Marcos De Oliveira
- Baboucarr Jallow
- Alejandro Mariscal
- Younes Marrakchi
- Daniel Radford
- Rubiel Vazquez
Video Assistant Referees
There are 17 Video Assistant Referees operating during the 2018 MLS season.[10]
- David Barrie
- Tim Ford
- Matt Franz
- Jon Freemon
- Geoff Gamble
- Guido Gonzales, Jr
- Luis Guardia
- Katja Koroleva
- Caleb Mendez
- Rosendo Mendoza
- Jorge Ramirez
- Victor Rivas
- Yusri Rudolf
- Kevin Terry, Jr
- Ramy Touchan
- Christina Unkel
- Jonathan Weiner
Support Staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| General Manager | Howard Webb |
| Chief Operating Officer | Nick Primavera |
| Executive Assistant | Sarah Bettison |
| Financial Controller | John Loder |
| Finance Coordinator | Dax Almazan |
| Manager of Senior Referees | Alan Black |
| Manager of Senior Assistant Referees and Video Review Operations | Greg Barkey |
| Director of Development Match Officials | Alex Prus |
| Manager of Development Group | Michael Kennedy |
| Development Group Referee Coach | Mark Kadlecik |
| Development Group Referee Coach | Erich Simmons |
| Director of Performance and Analysis | Matt Hawkey |
| Sports Performance Specialist | Tom Beckvermit |
| Video Analyst | Doug Bruce |
| Director of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation | Sandra Serafini |
| IT/Admin Support Coordinator | Nicole Ward |
| BU Coordinator | Alan Brown |
| Development Group Assigning Assistant | Brenda Wright |
Source: proreferees.com
References
- ^ "About PRO".
- ^ "New organization to improve officiating in North America". PRO.
- ^ "Mark Geiger and Paul Scott win MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year Awards for 2014".
- ^ "Alan Kelly and Corey Parker win MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year Awards for 2015".
- ^ "Alan Kelly and Frank Anderson win MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year Awards for 2016".
- ^ "Allen Chapman and Corey Parker win MLS Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year Awards for 2017".
- ^ "2018 Referees Roster".
- ^ "2018 Assistant Referees Roster".
- ^ "2018 Fourth Officials Roster".
- ^ "2018 Video Assistant Referees Roster".
- ^ "2018 PRO Support Staff".
External links
- "Official website".
- "Five PRO Officials selected for 2018 World Cup".
- "Howard Webb promoted to General Manager".
- "Eight PRO Officials assigned to 2017 Gold Cup".
- "Eight PRO Officials assigned to 2016 Copa America Centenario".
- "Eight PRO Officials assigned to 2015 Gold Cup".
- "CJ Morgante named an Assistant Referee for 2015 Gold Cup Final".
- "2018 Canadian FIFA Match Officials".
- "2018 United States FIFA Match Officials".
- "2018 International Refereeing List" (PDF).