11 Best Referees in World Football Right Now (2024)

Referees have a thankless job. The only figure on the pitch despised by both sets of fans has the unenviable task of following football’s vague set of laws which they don’t write or necessarily agree with.

While maintaining the requisite fitness levels demanded by the modern game, and withstanding unspeakable abuse which extends well beyond 90 minutes in the world of social media, elite referees get paid each year what many players will earn in a week – if not far less. Even in the exceedingly lucrative industry of football, some of the best officials balance their time on the pitch with other professions.

More often than not, no publicity is good publicity for a referee. Whenever any managers or players namecheck an official, it’s rarely to offer them some warm praise. But these unloved instruments of justice are integral to the most popular sport on the planet. Here’s a closer look at the best in the business.

Ranking factors

• Consistency
  – The keyword that revolves around any refereeing decision has to be balanced by a healthy dose of common sense.
• Controversy
  – Those officials who fly under the radar are often among the best.
• Appointments
  – Referees who are consistently given the biggest matches must be doing something right.

11 Danny Makkelie

Nationality: Netherlands

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean infamously worked in a chicken abattoir at the start of his career, but most officials come from professions of authority. Alongside the countless list of head teachers, plenty of police officers have swapped a baton for a whistle over the years. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie balances his on-pitch duties with a position as a part-time police inspector.

As with any referee, Makkelie has endured his fair share of controversy – notably earning criticism for an “arrogant” approach. But the experienced official, who first began taking charge of kids’ football matches as a 10-year-old, was highly rated enough by FIFA to be considered for the role of refereeing the 2022 World Cup final. Makkelie was ultimately overlooked and locked himself in his hotel room for two days.

10 Artur Soares Dias

Nationality: Portugal

While Artur Soares Dias waited to head to the centre circle of Moreirense FC’s home ground in October 2004, his nerves turned to fear. Ahead of his first game in Portugal’s top flight, there was plenty of reason for the young official to fret. Only two of the 22 players starting the match were younger than the 25-year-old Dias, who had never experienced the pressure of 3,000 fans loudly critiquing every decision.

Fortunately, “everything improved over time, and I became more confident”, the referee explained two decades later. These days, Dias doesn’t show a whisper of hesitancy before routinely taking charge of the derbies between Portugal’s three biggest clubs; Porto, Sporting CP and Benfica.

9 Francois Letexier

Nationality: France

While spending hours hunkered down in front of the TV, a young Francois Letexier’s eye was not drawn to the skills of Ronaldinho, the searing pace of Djibril Cisse or the technical mastery of Juninho Pernambucano, but the figure draped in all black in the middle of the pitch. By the tender age of 13, the eccentric French teenager had already begun officiating matches.

Quickly rising up the domestic hierarchy, Letexier was voted Ligue 1’s best referee in 2023 and earned a spot at his first senior major tournament for Euro 2024. A part-time job as a court bailiff affords the official “a good life balance”, in his own words.

8 Michael Oliver

Nationality: England

The Premier League – as with any top division across the world – gets bogged down in refereeing controversy every week. As one of the officials given the so-called ‘golden games’, Michael Oliver is exposed to more naturally untrusting fans. However, when compared to the level of abuse hurled the way of some of his compatriots, Oliver impressively evades plenty of scrutiny.

The self-confessed Newcastle fan revealed that he is routinely described as “politely aloof” by players. Former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was less flattering, claiming that Oliver “has a rubbish bin where his heart should be” after he awarded Real Madrid a penalty in the 2018 Champions League semi-finals.

7 Halil Umut Meler

Nationality: Turkey

Every referee develops a depressing familiarity with criticism, but Halil Umut Meler endured a physical attack in response to his perfectly legitimate decisions. At the end of a spiky Turkish top-flight match in December 2023, Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca stormed onto the pitch and ploughed his right fist into Meler’s temple. The referee was kicked in the head while on the turf before he was mercifully extracted from the melee and taken to hospital.

Meler was back on the pitch within a month and would take charge of knockout ties in UEFA’s Conference and Europa League. The only Turkish referee at Euro 2024 was part of history when he oversaw the first use of ‘snicko’ technology at the European Championships during Belgium’s group-stage defeat to Slovakia.

6 Istvan Kovacs

Nationality: Romania

Istvan Kovacs was thrown in at the deep end. At the end of his debut in Romania’s top flight in August 2007, the then-22-year-old official had the confidence to produce two yellow cards in rapid succession, sending the experienced Romania international Ionel Ganea for an early bath.

Painted as an “unlovable robot” by the Romanian press, Kovacs has maintained an unflinching commitment to the laws of the game since taking up his whistle. Fortunately for the 39-year-old, he has developed a thick skin. “I have learned, throughout these years, not to take what is said to heart,” Kovacs once explained.

5 Stephanie Frappart

Nationality: France

Stephanie Frappart once admitted: “I didn’t have any role models.” That’s chiefly because there were no other female referees at the elite level of football for Frappart to look up to while growing up in France. The diminutive, softly-spoken official can command the respect and obedience of players without raising her voice.

Former US Orleans midfielder Pierre Bouby explained that Frappart’s “charisma and personality”, as well as her willingness to calmly explain each decision, ensured that she was the best official he came across. The former amateur player has taken charge of games in Ligue 1, all three of UEFA’s club competitions and made her debut at the 2022 World Cup. Now it is Frappart who can be the role model.

4 Daniele Orsato

Nationality: Italy

When Daniele Orsato took charge of his first Serie A match, Juventus were in the second division. A stern authoritarian, the spiky-haired official could easily get on the wrong side of managers and players. Real Madrid icon Luka Modric infamously labelled him a “disaster” during the 2022 World Cup.

But between the bursts of controversy that are an occupational hazard, Orsato earned the begrudging respect of most. Fiorentina director Daniele Prade gushed: “When we knew he had been appointed, we were sure we had the best referee on the pitch.” Forced into retirement by the Italian top-flight ahead of his 50th birthday, Orsato will end his distinguished career at Euro 2024.

3 Slavko Vincic

Nationality: Slovenia

Hailing from the country that produced NBA star Luka Doncic, it was basketball, rather than football, that initially captured Slavko Vincic’s imagination. All sports faded to the background when Vincic went to university, but the qualified telecommunications engineer returned to the football pitch draped in black thanks to the advice of his uncle, who was an assistant referee.

A stickler for extensive pre-match preparation, scouting the teams and players of each contest that he oversees, Vincic’s dedication to his craft was rewarded by UEFA with his appointment for the 2024 Champions League final. The Slovenian official avoided any controversy while Real Madrid eased to victory over Borussia Dortmund.

2 Szymon Marciniak

Nationality: Poland

Szymon Marciniak reached the zenith of the refereeing world during a golden six months between the end of 2022 and the summer of 2023. Shortly after overseeing the World Cup final between France and Argentina, the Polish official was given the biggest gig in European club football, taking charge of Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final. Marciniak acknowledged that showpiece events may be harder to come by in the future, but reasoned: “Now every semi-final will be like a final for me.”

An official who prides himself on letting the game flow, Marciniak came into Euro 2024 on the back of hefty criticism for his hasty intervention in the 2024 Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Thomas Tuchel described the Pole’s early whistle before Matthijs de Ligt put the ball in the back of the net as a “disastrous decision”.

1 ​​​Clement Turpin

Nationality: France

Clement Turpin has a lovely turn of phrase. The widely respected French official enjoyed a meteoric rise to the summit of European football, toppling a glut of age-related records as he quickly established himself as an official who can be trusted on the biggest stage. When reflecting upon his career, Turpin thought that the French idiom of a star above one’s head didn’t do his good fortune justice. “At the moment, it feels like there’s an entire constellation of stars above me!” he beamed.

The Champions League final referee in 2022, Turpin was given the honour of overseeing the opening game of Euro 2024. When asked for some advice for aspiring officials, the well-spoken referee borrowed a line from Oscar Wilde: “Shoot for the moon – even if you miss, you’ll end up among the stars.”

Stats via Transfermarkt. Correct as of 26th June 2024.