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Founded | November 2012 |
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Headquarters | 420 Fifth Avenue 7th Floor New York, NY 10018 [1] |
Area served | United States and Canada |
Key people |
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Website | www |
Professional Referee Organization (PRO) is the organization responsible for managing the referee and assistant referee program in professional soccer leagues in the United States and Canada, working alongside the United States Soccer Federation, Major League Soccer, the Canadian Soccer Association, the United Soccer League, the National Women's Soccer League, and the U.S. Open Cup.
The organization's targets are to increase the quality of officiating in U.S. and Canadian professional leagues, develop more professional-quality officials at a younger age, and produce officials who will represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions. [3] The referees employed by PRO are represented by the PSRA. [4]
The U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer joined forces in 2012 to create the Professional Referee Organization and the aims for PRO is to develop a higher standard of officiating at a younger age and to produce referees who can represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions.
Then U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said, "We've always understood that the development of referees is an important aspect to the growth of the game in the United States. PRO is another step toward the improvement and professionalization of our top referees. With the additional resources and funding provided by the formation of PRO, we will continue to build upon the progress we've already made." [5]
Employee | Title [6] |
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Mark Geiger | General Manager |
Nick Primavera | Chief Operating Officer |
John Loder | Director of Finance and Accounting |
Joe Fletcher | Chief Refereeing Officer |
Sarah Bettison | Manager of Human Resources and Planning |
Yolanda Samuel | Executive Assistant |
Dax Almazan | Manager of Payroll and Accounting |
Sandro Ricci | Director of Senior Match Officials |
Frank Anderson | Manager of Senior Assistant Referees |
Greg Barkey | Manager of Video Review |
Alan Black | Director of Technical Programs |
Alex Prus | Director of PRO2 Match Officials |
Mark Kadlecik | PRO2 Referee Coach |
Erich Simmons | PRO2 Referee Coach |
Tom Beckvermit | Director of Sports Performance |
Lisa Stalans | Head of Sports Medicine |
John Westbrooks | Head Sports Performance Coach |
Nicole Ward | Director of Operations |
Amy Edwards | Manager of Tactical and Video Analysis |
Leisha Alcia | Operations Coordinator |
Diane Johnson | Manager of Travel |
Season [7] | Referee | Assistant Referee |
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2012 | ![]() | ![]() |
2013 | ![]() | ![]() |
2014 | ![]() | ![]() |
2015 | ![]() | ![]() |
2016 | ![]() | |
2017 | ![]() | ![]() |
2018 | ![]() | ![]() |
2019 | ![]() | ![]() |
2020 | ![]() | ![]() |
2021 | ![]() ![]() | ![]() |
2022 | ![]() | ![]() |
2023 | ![]() | ![]() |
Season [8] | Referee | Assistant Referee |
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2019 | ![]() | ![]() |
2020 | ![]() | ![]() |
2021 | ![]() | ![]() |
2022 | ![]() | ![]() |
2023 | ![]() | ![]() |
Ahead of the 2024 MLS season, these match officials were listed on the PRO rosters.
As of January 2024, these PRO officials' were listed on the international roster: [13]
In December 2018, Jair Marrufo as referee, Frank Anderson and Corey Rockwell as assistant referees, and Mark Geiger as an assistant video assistant referee, were selected to oversee the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup final. [14]
In August 2023, six PRO officials were appointed to the FIFA Women's World Cup final—three on-field and three video officials. Tori Penso was chosen to adjudicate the final, alongside assistant referees Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt. Also chosen were Support VAR Armando Villarreal, Standby VAR Carol Anne Chenard, and Standby AVAR Drew Fischer. [15]
Brian Hall is an American former soccer referee from northern California. He started his professional career as an assistant referee in the NASL at age 19. Hall was a FIFA referee from 1992 until he retired in 2007 at the mandatory retirement age of 45. He refereed two games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was also named Major League Soccer Referee of the Year in 2003, 2005 2006, and 2007. Hall served as the US Soccer Manager of Referee Assessment and Training until 2010. He became the first Director of Referees for CONCACAF in December 2010 and held that post until December 2013. Hall is currently the Match Official Development Manager for the Professional Referee Organization (PRO).
Mark William Geiger is an American sports administrator and former soccer referee. He is the senior director of match officials at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees domestic referees in Major League Soccer (MLS). Geiger previously officiated in MLS and was on the FIFA International Referees List from 2008 to 2019. At the international level, Geiger refereed the 2012 Olympics, the 2013, 2015, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. At the 2014 World Cup, he became the first referee from the United States to officiate a knockout match at a World Cup tournament. Before becoming a full-time referee, Geiger was a high school mathematics teacher.
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