Female Referee Penso Assigned to Czech Republic vs. South Africa Match, Second in History

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, female referee Tori Penso (United States) has been assigned to officiate the Group A match between the Czech Republic and South Africa, scheduled for 1:00 a.m. on June 19 (Korea Standard Time) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
ESPN reported that this marks the second time in history that a female referee has officiated a match at the men's World Cup.
The first female referee at a men's World Cup was Stéphanie Frappart (France), who officiated the group stage match between Germany and Costa Rica at the 2022 Qatar tournament.
Penso began refereeing at the age of 14 to earn pocket money. Although she once worked in the advertising industry, she later transitioned to becoming a full-time referee.
After becoming the first female referee in Major League Soccer (MLS) in September 2020, Penso joined the FIFA international referee panel in 2021. Since then, she has officiated men's tournaments organized by CONCACAF and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
(Photo: Getty Images Korea)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.