Awards
US Soccer RefereesUS Soccer Referees

Referee Awards

Eddie Pearson Award

The award is presented to an individual from the referee community that displays the following:

  • Distinguished contributions to the U.S. Soccer Federation Referee Program
  • Involvement with the program has spanned at least 20 years

Each State Association, State Referee Committee or State Referee Administrator may recommend a candidate based on the criteria listed above.  Recommendations are submitted to the U.S. Soccer Referee Department where the criteria for each candidate will be reviewed by a selection panel comprised of previous Eddie Pearson Award winners.  The final selections will be confirmed by the U.S. Soccer Referee Committee based on the recommendations of the selection panel. 

Previous recipients:

  • Pat Smith (1979)
  • Don Byron (1980)
  • Ray Morgan (1981)
  • Roger Schott (1982)
  • Paul Avis (1983)
  • John Best (1987)
  • Harry Baldwin (1988)
  • Robert Sumpter (1989)
  • Don Philipson (1990)
  • Keith Walker (1991)
  • Robert Evans (1992)
  • Angelo Bratsis (1993)
  • Heinz Wolmerath (1994)
  • Thomas Webb (1995)
  • Jack McCabe (1996)
  • Richard Giebner (1997)
  • Michael Wuertz (1998)
  • Fernando Alvarez (1999)
  • Peter Johnson (2000)
  • Ed Bellion (2001)
  • Robert Wertz (2002)
  • Alfred Kleinaitis (2003)
  • Jim Allen (2004)
  • Herb Silva (2006)
  • Dave McKee (2008)
  • Rodney Kenny (2010)
  • Toros Kibritjian (2011)
  • Jozsef Michna (2013)
  • Holly Hollingsworth (2014)
  • Dilvo DiPlacido (2015)
  • Arturo Angeles (2016)
  • Baharmast, Esfandiar "Esse" (2019)
  • Hall, Brian (2020)
  • Hunt, Sandra (2021)

William Scofield Award

The award is presented to an individual from the referee community that encompasses the following characteristics:

  • Thorough dedication to the art and profession of refereeing
  • Courage and will to recover from a major physical setback
  • Unparalleled treatment of fellow officials with respect and friendship

Each State Association, State Referee Committee or State Referee Administrator may recommend a candidate based on the criteria listed above.  Recommendations are submitted to the U.S. Soccer Referee Department where the criteria for each candidate will be reviewed and then selections will be confirmed by the U.S. Soccer Referee Committee as appropriate. 

Previous recipients:

  • Robert Singer (1990)
  • Reinhold Spath (1991)
  • George Hall (1992)
  • Robert Evans (1994)
  • Steve Oliver (1997)
  • Dennis La Versa (2000)
  • Fred Parrish (2008)
  • Charlie Van Nederpelt (2014)
  • Jonathan Meersman (2015)
  • Mohammad Zarrabi-Kashani (2018)