American referee Tori Penso will take charge of England’s match against Spain in the World Cup final.
Penso also officiated England’s victory over co-hosts Australia in the semi-finals and will therefore take charge of the Lionesses for the second match in a row.
The ground-breaking MLS referee booked both Alex Greenwood and Chloe Kelly during the semi-final, which the Lionesses 3-1 in Sydney.
Those were the only yellow cards shown during the clash although there could have been much more during the 90 minutes, with a number of heavy challenges.
Greenwood was booked for sliding in on Sam Kerr, but Keira Walsh and Jess Carter were perhaps fortunate to escape the same punishment for late fouls on the Australia captain.
Meanwhile Penso showed further leniency as Australia winger Hayley Raso fouled Lauren Hemp, but then booked England substitute Kelly for time-wasting late in the match.
The World Cup final will be the biggest match of Penso’s career.
Who is Tori Penso?
Penso is one of the leading officials in the game.
Penso regularly takes charge of Major League Soccer matches in the United States after becoming the first woman to referee in the US top-flight in 20 years when she officiated a game between D.C. United and Nashville in September 2020.
The World Cup final will be Penso’s fifth match of the tournament. The American, who has been a Fifa-rated referee since 2021, took charge of Germany’s 6-0 win over Morocco and Switzerland’s 0-0 draw with New Zealand in the group stages, as well as France’s 4-0 win against Morocco in the last-16.
Penso only gave out two yellow cards across her first three games at the tournament, but then showed a further two in England’s 3-1 win over Australia in the semi-finals.
When is the World Cup final?
After beating Nigeria, Colombia and Australia, the Lionesses will play Spain in the final. The final will be played on Sunday 20 August at 11:00am BST in Sydney and the match will be shown on BBC and ITV.
Coverage on BBC One starts at 10am, while ITV’s coverage begins at 10:15am.
