2012 FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees

The Canadian Soccer Association is proud to announce that 11 officials have been named to the 2012 FIFA List of Referees and Assistant Referees. The list features five referees and six assistant referees.

The five referees are Carol Anne Chénard, Dave Gantar, Silviu Petrescu, Michelle Pye and Paul Ward. The six assistant referees are Daniel Belleau, Philippe Brière, Marie-Josée Charbonneau, Darren Clark, Joe Fletcher and Suzanne Morisset.

Of note, 30-year old Charbonneau of Mascouche, QC has been named to the FIFA List for the first time. The 10 other officials are all returning officials, with 44-year old Petrescu the longest-serving Canadian official on the FIFA List (11 years since 2002).

Of note, two long-serving Canadian officials not on the FIFA List this year are referee Mauricio Navarro and assistant referee Héctor Vergara. Both officials retired at the end of last year after reaching 45 years of age. Navarro had been on the FIFA List for 12 years, from 2000 to 2011. Vergara, meanwhile, had been on the FIFA List for 19 years from 1993 to 2011, longer than any other Canadian official.