Alex Chilowicz (born December 3, 1987) is an American association football referee working in the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

since 2023. He was previously employed by

PRO Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African ret ...

and officiated in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS) between 2017 and 2023.

Career

In 2014, Chilowicz was named Referee of the Year by the New Jersey Soccer Association. Chilowicz officiated

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for many years, beginning as early as 2009 until as late as 2022. He was the referee for a round of 16 match between

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in the

2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament The 2016 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament (also known as the 2016 Women's College Cup) was the 35th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I women's College soccer in the ...

. Chilowicz debuted as a referee in Major League Soccer on August 19, 2017, taking charge of a match between the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

and D.C. United in

Commerce City Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States census. Commerce City is the 18th mos ...

. In a career spanning seven seasons, Chilowicz was the referee for 106 regular-season MLS matches and served as VAR for 62 regular-season matches. He was the VAR for the

2018 MLS All-Star Game The 2018 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 23rd edition of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game. It was held on August 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia and played against Italian club Juventus. The match was ...

and fourth official for

MLS Cup 2020 MLS Cup 2020 was the 25th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and was played at Historic Crew Stadium, Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Ohio. The match was originally set to take place on Nov ...

. In May 2022, Chilowicz refereed at the

2022 Caribbean Club Championship The 2022 Caribbean Club Championship was the 24th and final edition of the Caribbean Club Championship (also known as the CFU Club Championship), the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Caribbean region, held amongst ...

in the Dominican Republic. On June 10, 2022, Chilowicz refereed his first competitive match between senior national teams, taking charge of a CONCACAF Nations League B match between

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

in Arnos Vale. Following the

2023 Major League Soccer season The 2023 Major League Soccer season was the 28th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and the 45th season overall of a national first-division league in the United States. The ...

, the English Football League announced that Chilowicz had relocated to England and would become a National Group official. On December 23, 2023, he became one of the first non-British referees to take charge of a Football League match, refereeing a League Two fixture between

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. On April 1, 2024, Chilowicz refereed his first

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

match, a 2–1 win for

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

New York Stadium The New York Stadium, currently known as the AESSEAL New York Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Opened in July 2012, it is the home ground of Rotherham United F. ...

. On August 27, 2024, Chilowicz refereed his first match at a

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

stadium when he took charge of the

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie between Brighton and Hove Albion and

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

. The match was marked by a controversial incident early in the game, when a challenge by Jay Williams on Brighton's

Matt O'Riley Matthew Sean O'Riley (born 21 November 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. Born in England, he plays for the Denmark national team. Club career Fulham O'Riley joi ...

resulted in a serious injury for O'Riley. Chilowicz was criticized for not booking or sending off Williams for the foul. Chilowicz has received praise from Steve Evans for his decision-making and communication skills.

Personal life

Chilowicz was raised in

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township (New Jersey), township in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New ...

, and played soccer at

Wayne Hills High School Wayne Hills High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school, in Wayne, in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as o ...

, graduating in 2006. His father Dan is a former teacher and soccer coach at Clifton High School. Chilowicz attended the Jazz Studies program at

William Paterson University William Paterson University, known as WP, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 an ...

and the

Institute of Jazz Studies The Institute of Jazz Studies (IJS) is the largest and most comprehensive library and archives of jazz and jazz-related materials in the world. It is located on the fourth floor of the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers University–Newark in Ne ...

Rutgers University–Newark Rutgers University–Newark is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. It is located in Newark, New Jersey, Newark. Rutgers, fo ...

. He plays the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

. Outside of refereeing, Chilowicz works as a musician, with credits in television and film as well as on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilowicz, Alex Living people 1987 births American soccer referees Major League Soccer referees North American Soccer League (2011–2017) referees People from Wayne, New Jersey Wayne Hills High School alumni William Paterson University alumni Rutgers University–Newark alumni Sportspeople from New Jersey Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey American male saxophonists Musicians from Passaic County, New Jersey Music copyists English Football League referees