Mexican referee Karen Diaz helps make history at Qatar 2022

MIAMI, Florida – Referee Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico will be part of a history-making crew for the Germany-Costa Rica match on Thursday in Group E of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, serving as an Assistant Referee on the first ever all-female refereeing trio to take charge of a Senior Men’s World Cup match.

The trio will be led by Head Referee Stephanie Frappart of France, with Neuza Back of Brazil serving as Diaz’s counterpart as Assistant Referee.

“Refereeing is a passion that challenges you every day both physically and mentally, and I think all of the women in the world, we are women of challenges and each day there is a match to officiate,” said Diaz in a pre-tournament interview with Concacaf.com.

“Concacaf is giving us the opportunity to referee in men’s matches, to be in men’s tournaments, and that gives us the chance to be able to prepare ourselves for this great event,” added Diaz.

Diaz is one of six women referees at the World Cup, a list that also includes Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States, who will work as one of the Assistant Video Assistant Referees in Thursday’s match. Nesbitt will be designated as the Offside VAR.

Diaz is no stranger to making history. In October 2021 she became the first woman to be part of an officiating crew for a Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Final when she served as an Assistant Referee for the 2021 Monterrey-Club America Final in Monterrey, Mexico.

Diaz also became the first woman from Concacaf to work a Senior Men’s FIFA tournament when she traveled to Qatar in November 2021 to be part of the refereeing team at the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup.

In addition to those accomplishments, Diaz has been a successful referee in Mexico’s domestic leagues, becoming the first woman referee to officiate in the second leg of a Liga MX Final, refereeing the Liga MX Guardianes 2020 Final between Club Leon and Pumas.

Diaz has been a certified FIFA Assistant Referee since 2018 and has worked in various Concacaf national team and club tournaments, including the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf League, 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, 2018 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship and the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship.