The American Tori I think was appointed to direct this Tuesday the first round match of the 2023 Club World Cup that will be played in Jeddah Al-Ittihadchampion of the Saudi league led by Marcelo Gallardo, and Auckland City New Zealander, oceanic representative.
Penso will be helped on the wings of the King Abdullah stadium by her compatriots Brooke Mayo y Katie Nesbitt and the fourth referee will be the Congolese Jean-Jacques I’m Not Afraid.
Born in Stuart (Florida) 37 years ago, the North American referee, who At a very young age, she was on the verge of quitting after being chased by an angry father at a U-16 men’s tournament.was the first woman to referee an MLS match in two decades and the ninth in history.
He graduated in digital marketing and, after working in important multinationals, achieved a master’s degree in business administration.
It was, furthermore, lfirst woman to coach in the men’s Concacaf Leaguein September 2021, and, after also refereeing in competitions of said national team confederation, was at the last Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. His performances allowed him to take charge of the final in which Spain beat England in Sydneywhere he also had Mayo and Nesbitt as assistants.
Finalist in the World Cup
The striking thing is that the American had been in charge of directing one of the semifinals of the competition on Wednesday, in which the British beat Australia 3 to 1, and she was already leaving for the airport to return to her country when she received the call of FIFA.
“We couldn’t choose someone better. She did very well throughout the tournament, especially in Wednesday’s semi-final. We know that her appointment came unexpectedly, because she had been selected for one of the semifinals, but we are completely convinced that the best have to referee the final and she was the best,” justified Pierluigi Collina, president of the Commission of FIFA referees.
Collina announced the designation with a t-shirt with Penso’s last name printed on the back during a meeting in which all the officials still working on the World Cup participated. “It was a very special moment to be in a room with many of my mentors, teammates and colleagues, who made an incredible tournament. When Collina turned the shirt over and my name appeared, I was petrified. I didn’t even know how to react. “I cried with joy, I was overwhelmed by emotions,” said the judge.
Penso, whose maiden name is Hancock, was one of six American referees who appeared at the Women’s World Cup. She officiated two group stage matches (Germany-Morocco and New Zealand-Switzerland) and one of the round of 16 matches (France-Morocco) and the semi between England and Australia before the grand final.
The American began coaching in high school with her older brothers and in 2013 she joined the American Soccer Federation as a referee, having already overcome that incident with an angry father. She progressed as an assistant and fourth referee in Major League Soccer matches until in September 2020 she officiated her first match.