In 2025, she became the first female referee to officiate a men’s Gold Cup match.
On Friday, Mexican referee Katia Itzel was selected by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to officiate as a center referee in the men’s World Cup, becoming the first Mexican woman to do so.
RELATED:
Puerto Rican Boxer Amanda Serrano to Defend Her Featherweight Titles
Her career includes officiating a Liga MX men’s First Division match in 2024, Pachuca vs. Querétaro, when she broke a period of more than 20 years without women refereeing in Mexico.
In 2025, Itzel became the first female referee to officiate a men’s Gold Cup match and received the 2024 National Sports Award for best referee, further solidifying her professional prestige.
A graduate in Political Science and Public Administration from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she participated in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and was recognized as the sixth-best female referee in the world.
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics named her the best referee in the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
The text reads, “FIFA has published the names of the 52 referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 VAR assistants for the 2026 World Cup. Cesar Ramos and Katia Itzel are the referees chosen by Mexico.”
Itzel has publicly denounced the cyberbullying she faces because of her work, emphasizing the importance of making this problem visible and generating actions to eradicate it both on and off the field.
The official FIFA list for the 2026 World Cup also includes Mexican referees such as Cesar Ramos, Marco Bisguerra, Alberto Morin, Sandra Ramirez, Erick Miranda, and Guillermo Pacheco.
The tournament will feature 52 referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video assistant referees (VARs), comprising FIFA’s “Team One,” which comprises 170 match officials, 41 more than at Qatar 2022.
Pierluigi Collina, Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, highlighted that six women were selected, continuing the trend begun at Qatar 2022 and further solidifying the development of women’s refereeing.
[ SOURCE: teleSUR ]
