FIFA chose Wilton Pereira Sampaio (GO), Raphael Claus (SP) and Ramon Abatti Abel (SC) to form the FIFA arbitration panel. The decision was announced this Thursday (April 9, 2026). The tournament will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11th to July 19th.
The World Cup will feature 9 professionals. In addition to the 3 main referees, the highest entity in world football selected 5 assistants from the country: Bruno Boschilia (PR), Bruno Pires (GO), Danilo Manis (SP), Rodrigo Figueiredo (RJ) and Rafael Alves (RS). Rodolpho Toski Marques (PR) will complete the national representation as a video referee, working in the video referee system (VAR).
REFEREES
- Wilton Pereira Sampaio (GO)
Wilton Pereira Sampaio, is 44 years old and began acting as a referee for the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) in 2004, having participated throughout the years in
in all Brasileirão series. It will be his 2nd appearance as a referee at the World Cup. He worked in Qatar, in 2022. - Abatti Abel (SC)
(esq.), Born in Santa Catarina, he is 36 years old and joined the group of CBF referees in 2017. Having worked in . It will be the 1st world championship of Abatti teams. He participated in the Club World Cup last year. - Raphael Claus (SP)
He is 46 years old and, like Pereira, only participated in the Qatar World Cup in 2022. For the CBF, he played in since 2010.
ASSISTANT REFEREES
- Bruno Boschilia (PR)
At 42 years old, Boschilia is from Curitiba (PR) and has worked for CBF since 2005. Participated in . - Bruno Pires (GO)
Pires joined the confederation in 2012 and has 379 performances. He has 40 years. - Danilo Manis (SP)
Born in Itapetininga, Manis is 44 years old and has worked as an assistant referee for the CBF since 2005, with throughout its trajectory. - Rodrigo Figueiredo (RJ)
At 43 years old, Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Corrêa is from Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and has been working for CBF since 2010. Having participated in . - Rafael Alves (RS)
Rafael da Silva Alves, is currently 43 years old and has been playing for the confederation since 2011, having served as an assistant referee in .
OUR
- Rodolpho Toski Marques (PR)
Born in Curitiba (PR), he has been part of the CBF team since 2012. He is 39 years old and in his career.
RECORD NUMBER
The presence of 3 Brazilian referees at a World Cup has not happened since 1950. That year, the tournament was played in Brazil. From that edition until 2022, only one Brazilian judge was selected for each World Cup. The number represents a record for Brazil, considering that from 1950 to 2018, the country had only one representative per edition.
At the 2022 World Cup, Brazil had 7 refereeing representatives, including assistants. In that edition, Neuza Inês Back became the first Brazilian to participate in a World Cup.
FIFA defined 52 main referees, 87 assistants and 30 video referees for the tournament. Information about which specific matches each Brazilian referee will officiate has not yet been released.
