American soccer referee
Armando Villarreal (born 1986)[ 2] is an American soccer referee . He has officiated in Major League Soccer since 2012 and was added to the FIFA International Referees List in 2015.[ 3]
Biography
Villarreal began refereeing at the age of 18, when a league in which he played in Brownsville, Texas , needed volunteers for under-5 matches. He then took a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) course to qualify for grade 8 as a referee and began officiating around Texas .[ 4]
After working as a fourth official in Major League Soccer (MLS), Villarreal was referee for his first game in the competition on May 24, 2012, between the New York Red Bulls and Chivas USA .[ 5] He officiated in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup Final , which Seattle Sounders FC won against the Philadelphia Union .[ 6] In the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs , he admitted after the game to making an incorrect decision in allowing Dilly Duka of the Montreal Impact to score from an offside position against the Columbus Crew , who nonetheless won in overtime .[ 7] He officiated in the final of the 2016 USL Playoffs [ 8] and was chosen for MLS Cup 2021 between the Portland Timbers and New York City FC [ 9] and MLS Cup 2023 between the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles FC .[ 10]
Villarreal's first international match was on May 29, 2011, in a 2–2 friendly tie between El Salvador and Honduras in Houston .[ 11] He was added to the FIFA International Referees List in 2015.[ 12] He was chosen for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2017 ,[ 13] 2019 ,[ 14] 2021 ,[ 15] and 2023 ,[ 16] as well as the Copa América Centenario also in the United States.[ 17] He was one of 24 Video Assistant Referees (VAR) chosen for the 2022 FIFA World Cup .[ 18]
References
^ "Education & Technical - Referees by Association" . August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2023 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link )
^ "Education & Technical - Referees by Association" . August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2023 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link )
^ "FIFA list of referees" (PDF) . resources.fifa.com. 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021 .
^ "Armando Villarreal" . US Referee Connection. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Armando Villarreal: From one to 100" . Professional Referee Organization . July 13, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ Berton, Michael (September 16, 2014). "Kings reclaim throne: Seattle Sounders beat Philadelphia Union in OT to win 4th US Open Cup title" . The Cup. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ King, Andrew (November 9, 2015). "Referees explain controversial offside calls in Columbus Crew SC's second leg win over Montreal Impact" . Major League Soccer . Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Villarreal to Lead 2016 USL Cup Final Officials" . United Soccer League . October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "2021 MLS Cup Final: Who is the referee of the Timbers vs NYCFC game?" . Diario AS . December 10, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Who is Armando Villarreal, the referee for the MLS Cup final 2023?" . Diario AS . December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023 .
^ "El Salvador aprovechó errores de Honduras y terminó empatando" [El Salvador took advantage of Honduras's errors and ended up tying] (in Spanish). Honduas Fútbol. May 29, 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Four PRO officials added to FIFA International Panel of Referees" . Columbus Crew . January 7, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Geiger, Marrufo, Villarreal picked as Gold Cup referees" . USA Today . June 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Qatari referee will work CONCACAF Gold Cup" . USA Today . May 17, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ "Concacaf names female refs to Gold Cup officiating teams as VAR debuts" . Inside World Football. July 6, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ Suazo, Luis (June 27, 2023). "Honduras vs Qatar será dirigido por un árbitro estadounidense catalogado como 'riguroso' " [Honduras vs Qatar will be officiated by a United States referee classed as "rigorous"] (in Spanish). Deportes TVC. Retrieved July 15, 2023 .
^ "Copa America to use goal-line technology; referees announced" . ESPN . May 26, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
^ Floyd, Thomas (November 17, 2022). "What to know about video review at the World Cup" . The Washington Post . Retrieved November 22, 2022 .
External links