Mexico is enjoying a clean sweep in the Concacaf Referee of the Year Awards for 2018. Liga MX referee Cesar Ramos has been named Concacaf Men’s Referee of the Year, while, for the second straight year, Lucila Venegas of Liga MX Femenil has taken home Concacaf Women’s Referee of the Year honors.
In was in 2018 that Ramos earned the distinction of refereeing in a FIFA World Cup for the very first time. The Sinaloa native officiated three matches at Russia 2018: Brazil-Switzerland and Poland-Colombia in the group phase, plus Uruguay-Portugal in the Round of 16. Ramos was also in charge of the two biggest matches in Liga MX in 2018, officiating the second leg of the Liga MX Torneo Clausura Final between Toluca and Santos Laguna, won 3-2 on aggregate by Santos. Six months later in the second leg of the Final of the Liga MX Torneo Apertura, Ramos was the referee for Club America’s 2-0 victory over Cruz Azul.
It was also a busy 2018 for Venegas, who was appointed two matches at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship, including the Final won 2-0 by the United States against Canada. The Jalisco native also worked two matches at the 2018 FFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup: Uruguay-Ghana and Germany-Cameroon. (
Source: Concacaf)
Men
1. Cesar Ramos (MEX)
2. Mark Geiger (USA)
3. Joel Aguilar (SLV)
Women
1. Lucila Venegas (MEX)
2. Crystal Sobers (TRI)
3. Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)
