REFEREES from United States

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary American Referees of all time. This list of famous American Referees is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Mark Geiger (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 39.12, Mark Geiger is the most famous American Referee.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Mark William Geiger (born August 25, 1974) 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.

2. Matthew Conger (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 37.49, Matthew Conger is the 2nd most famous American Referee.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Matthew Conger (born 11 October 1978) is a New Zealand football referee from Palmerston North. Born in Texas, United States, Conger operates in the Australian A-League and the New Zealand Football Championship. He is also a school teacher in Palmerston North.

3. Jair Marrufo (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 30.81, Jair Marrufo is the 3rd most famous American Referee.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Jair Marrufo (born June 7, 1977) is an American soccer referee. He has been a referee in Major League Soccer since 2002 and a FIFA referee from 2007 to 2022.