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Natalie Simon

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Natalie Simon
Born Louisiana, US
Domestic
Years League Role
NWSL Referee
USL Championship Referee
2020– MLS Fourth official
2023– MLS Next Pro Referee
International
Years League Role
2022– FIFA listed Referee

Natalie Simon (born ca. 1989)[1] is an American international soccer referee for the Professional Referee Organization of the United States. In 2022, she became one of four American women to hold a FIFA international refereeing badge, and the first African-American woman to do.[2][3]

Early life

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Simon was born in Louisiana, the descendant of slaves on both sides of her family, and is of Choctaw Native American heritage from her maternal great-grandmother. She began playing soccer at age 8 while still in Louisiana, then later attended high school and played travel team soccer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[4]

Simon went to college at Stetson University, where she also played soccer as a forward.[2][5] Simon described her career as a player as being "a referee's worst nightmare. ... If I made it through a game without a yellow card, it was a good day."[6] An assistant coach at Stetson was a referee assessor and recommended officiating to Simon as a way to remain engaged with soccer after graduation.[4]

Career

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Collegiate soccer

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Simon joined the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA) in 2015, which named her Region VI (Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina) Referee of the Year in 2019.[7][8]

Simon officiated the 2022 National Women's Soccer League championship match between Portland Thorns FC and Kansas City Current.

National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)

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On May 8, 2021, Simon officiated the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship, her first assignment for a tournament's finals.[9][10] On October 29, 2022, Simon officiated the 2022 NWSL championship match.[11]

International officiating

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In August 2019, Simon was one of 12 referees to participate in Concacaf's Program of Refereeing Excellence.[12]

On April 12, 2022, Simon officiated her first United States women's national soccer team match as a center referee.[13]

On January 4, 2023, the United States Soccer Federation Referee Committee and FIFA re-appointed Simon to the 2023 FIFA Panel to officiate international matches.[14] That list included Alyssa Nichols, the second Black American woman to earn a FIFA badge, who viewed Simon as a role model.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Hernández, Miguel (January 17, 2022). "Natalie Simon becomes the first black woman referee in the United States to earn a FIFA badge". infobae. Retrieved May 11, 2023. Referee Natalie Simon, 32, has become the first African-American woman to earn a FIFA badge, a distinction that qualifies her to take part in international matches and tournaments.
  2. ^ a b Baxter, Kevin (January 12, 2022). "Referee Natalie Simon is first Black woman to earn FIFA badge: 'It's kind of a miracle'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  3. ^ Douglas, Kendra (April 4, 2022). "Natalie Simon becomes first African-American woman to earn FIFA referee badge". WESH. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Simon, Natalie (May 17, 2022). "Brandis Corner: Referees in Soccer". Women in Soccer (Interview). Interviewed by Chastain, Brandi. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Stetson women defeat Campbell". TopDrawerSoccer.com. November 3, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "So You Want to Be A... Referee". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 134, no. 4. May 2023.
  7. ^ Penso, Tori (March 2, 2021). Black History Month | Natalie Simon. YouTube. National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Regional Referee of the Year Award". National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "Crew announced for 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup Final" (Press release). Professional Referee Organization. May 8, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Portland Thorns FC captures 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship". SoccerWire. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "2022 NWSL Championship crew announced" (Press release). Professional Referee Organization. October 28, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  12. ^ "Natalie Simon: "Refereeing has taken my love for the game to the next level"" (Press release). Concacaf. August 1, 2019. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ^ United States Women's National Soccer Team [@USWNT] (April 12, 2022). "Tonight's center referee is Natalie Simon, the first Black woman to earn a FIFA badge" (Tweet). Retrieved May 10, 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Thirty-five U.S. Soccer Match Officials Named to 2023 FIFA Panel" (Press release). United States Soccer Federation. January 4, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  15. ^ Griffin, Tamerra (March 3, 2023). "FIFA referee Alyssa Nichols is aiming for the World Cup". Andscape. Retrieved May 10, 2023. Younger, Black, and Black women referees are trying to move up, and we tell them to reach out if they need help. For me, it was only Natalie who I was looking at, but for her, there was nobody else.
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