Chris Penso (born April 28, 1982) is a referee who is active in
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
.
Career
Penso was raised in
Dover, Ohio
Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 13,112 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately
south of Cleveland, west of Pittsburgh, and northeast of the state capital of Col ...
, and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the city while studying accounting at
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...
. He began refereeing in 1997, and also worked at the
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
and the
Ohio State Highway Patrol
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety and has the primary responsibility of traffic enforcement in the state of Ohio.
Divisions
Operationally, the Patrol is divided into units whose varying tasks com ...
. He quit the state patrol in 2006 to become a full-time referee, and officiated his first Major League Soccer match in 2011.
Penso became FIFA listed in 2013 and his first international assignment was on January 30, 2013, when he refereed a match between Mexico and Denmark. He served as a FIFA referee until 2015. In 2021, Penso was added to the FIFA list as a VAR.
Internationals
Personal life
Penso's wife,
Tori, is a professional referee. In 2020, she became the first woman to referee a Major League Soccer match in 20 years. They have three daughters.
References
External links
*
archive
1982 births
Living people
American soccer referees
Major League Soccer referees
CONCACAF Champions League referees
North American Soccer League referees
Place of birth missing (living people)
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