Armando Villarreal
Born 1986 (age 36–37)[1]
Domestic
Years League Role
2012– Major League Soccer Referee
International
Years League Role
2015– FIFA Referee
CONCACAF 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

  1. ↑ "Education & Technical - Referees by Association - FIFA.com". 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)
  2. ↑ "Education & Technical - Referees by Association - FIFA.com". 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)
  3. ↑ "FIFA list of referees" (PDF). resources.fifa.com. 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Armando Villarreal". US Referee Connection. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Armando Villarreal: From one to 100". Professional Referee Organization. July 13, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ "Villarreal to Lead 2016 USL Cup Final Officials". United Soccer League. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2021 MLS Cup Final: Who is the referee of the Timbers vs NYCFC game?". Diario AS. December 10, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Who is Armando Villarreal, the referee for the MLS Cup final 2023?". Diario AS. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Four PRO officials added to FIFA International Panel of Referees". Columbus Crew. January 7, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Geiger, Marrufo, Villarreal picked as Gold Cup referees". USA Today. June 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Qatari referee will work CONCACAF Gold Cup". USA Today. May 17, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Concacaf names female refs to Gold Cup officiating teams as VAR debuts". Inside World Football. July 6, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "Copa America to use goal-line technology; referees announced". ESPN. May 26, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  18. ↑ Floyd, Thomas (November 17, 2022). "What to know about video review at the World Cup". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
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