Jair Marrufo

Jair Marrufo
	Marrufo in 2018
Born	June 7, 1977 (age 47); El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Other occupation	Product specialist
Domestic
Years	League
2002–	Major League Soccer
International
Years	League
2007–2022	FIFA Listed
2007–	CONCACAF Champions League

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.

Career

Marrufo was 2008 MLS Referee of the Year.^[1]

Marrufo was suspended by MLS for the remainder of the 2009 MLS season as of September 1, 2009, for poor performance over the course of the season,^[2] and subsequently on February 5, 2010, Marrufo was removed from the 2010 World Cup referee list.^[3]^[4]

It was announced in 2013 that Marrufo would be a member of the newly formed Professional Referee Organization, the body responsible for refereeing appointments among the United States and Canada's top soccer leagues.^[5]

On July 8, 2014, Marrufo was assigned to the 2014 MLS All-Star Game, to be played on August 6 at Providence Park between an MLS All-Star team and Bayern Munich.^[6]

He also officiated a 2017 International Champions Cup match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid on 29 July 2017, after which he was accused by Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitić of insulting him.^[7]

Marrufo was selected to officiate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and his first appointment was the Group G match between Belgium & Tunisia.

Marrufo refereed the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final between Real Madrid and Al Ain FC.

He refereed the second leg of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League Final between C.F. Monterrey and Tigres UANL on May 1, 2019.^[8]

On May 17, 2019, Marrufo was appointed to be a referee for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.^[9]

Personal life

His father, Antonio Marrufo, was a FIFA referee from Mexico and served on the Mexican Referee Commission. Jair Marrufo speaks fluent English and Spanish. He is the husband of teacher and UTEP graduate Zinnia Mares Marrufo and they have two children together.^[10] He is of Mexican descent.

Honors

FIFA panel – 2007–2022
Two Olympic qualifier tournaments
Beijing Olympics – 2008
MLS Referee of the Year – 2008
Two U-17 World Cups
MLS Cup Playoffs
Copa Central Americano – 2014
MLS All-Star Game – 2014
CONCACAF Gold Cup – 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015
MLS Cup – 2006, 2015, 2020
Copa América – 2016
FIFA World Cup - 2018
CONCACAF Champions League Final – 2019

Card statistics

Major League Soccer
Season	G	Tot	PG	Tot	PG
2013	13	19	1.46	0	0
2014	17	24	1.41	2	0.12
2015	19	53	2.79	3	0.16
2016	17	45	2.65	1	0.06
2017	7	22	3.14	1	0.14

Updated to matches played on July 7, 2017.
Source: http://proreferees.com/stats/referee-stats/

References

^ "U.S. Soccer Referee Jair Marrufo Named 2008 MLS Referee of the Year". US Soccer. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013.
^ Goff, Steven (September 1, 2009). "3 MLS Refs Done for Season". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
^ "List of prospective referees for 2010 FIFA World Cup" (PDF). FIFA. October 22, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
^ Goff, Steven (September 1, 2009). "3 MLS Refs Done for Season". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2009.
^ "PRO Referee Roster". PROreferees.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ PRO announce crew for 2014 MLS All-Star game, Professional Referee Organization, July 8, 2014, archived from the original on July 15, 2014, retrieved July 8, 2014
^ "Barcelona news: Rakitic reveals referee insults in Real Madrid Clasico - Goal.com". Goal.com. July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
^ "Game Detail". www.concacafchampionsleague.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
^ "Match Officials Appointed for 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup". www.goldcup.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
^ "USSF Bio". US Soccer Federation. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2008.