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

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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) {{US-footy-bio-stub