The FIFA International Referees List is an annual publication of the global list of FIFA international referees in the football-variants controlled by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

(outdoor football),

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

and

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

. Members of the list are qualified to officiate at international level and are entitled to wear on their uniform for the year in which they listed.

Nomination

FIFA member countries are invited annually to nominate male and female officials for association football, futsal and beach soccer. Each country's Referee's Committee selects the referees to be nominated to FIFA. FIFA maintains five lists in total: men's and women's association football referees, men's and women's futsal referees, and a single list of beach soccer referees. Officials in the association football lists are nominated as either referees, assistant referees and/or video match officials. Futsal and beach soccer at international level are usually controlled by two on-field referees and there is no equivalent of the assistant referee.

Fitness

Referees nominated to the list must pass fitness tests consisting of a series of sprints and an interval test consisting of sprints and 2x 12.5 metre recovery walks. Assistant referees nominated to the list must pass fitness tests consisting of a CODA-drill, series of sprints and an interval test consisting of sprints and 2x 12.5 metre recovery walks.

FIFA badge

On being selected to the list, referees receive a badge from FIFA. The badge indicates the category of official in which they have been listed – referee, assistant referee, Futsal referee or soccer referee. While officiating matches in the category they have been nominated, the referee is expected to wear the badge. Where a referee is controlling a match outside of their category (e.g. an assistant referee acting as a central referee or a Futsal referee controlling an outdoor match) the badge is not worn. Members of the women's list are only allowed to work men's international matches if they have completed the men's fitness tests. Being listed for the first time is often referred to as receiving a FIFA badge.

Age

A referee must be at least 25 years old on 1 January to be eligible for International Referee listing nomination on that calendar year. An assistant referee is eligible at the age of 23 years. In 2016, the maximum age limits for the list (45, or 38 for first-time listees) was dropped. FIFA reserves the right to require referees over the age of 45 to undergo additional technical assessments as well as specific medical examinations and fitness testing on a case-by-case basis. Sarkis Demirdjian was the longest serving FIFA-listed referee, being listed for 20 years and 10 months (September 1962 – July 1983).

References

External links

* {{FIFA navbox Association football referees FIFA Annual publications