MLS referees: cards per game
479 finished matches from 24 October 2025 to 24 October 2026 (last 12 months).
27 referees took charge of at least 10 matches in that period. The league averages 4.32 cards per game, and 43.2% of matches ended with 5 or more. Most cards per game: Chris Penso (5.53). Fewest: Jair Marrufo (1.92).
Cards per referee in MLS
Averages per game, referees with at least 10 matches, most cards first.
| # | Referee | Matches | Cards | Yellows | Reds | Fouls | 5+ cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Penso | 17 | 5.53 | 5.35 | 0.18 | 22.53 | 64.7% |
| 2 | Guido Gonzalez | 16 | 5.25 | 4.75 | 0.50 | 24.69 | 68.8% |
| 3 | Víctor Rivas | 22 | 5.23 | 4.86 | 0.36 | 23.27 | 59.1% |
| 4 | Malik Badawi | 14 | 5.07 | 5.00 | 0.07 | 23.14 | 85.7% |
| 5 | Alexis Da Silva | 17 | 4.88 | 4.65 | 0.24 | 25.76 | 58.8% |
| 6 | Joe Dickerson | 18 | 4.83 | 4.56 | 0.28 | 23.33 | 55.6% |
| 7 | Ricardo Montero | 13 | 4.77 | 4.38 | 0.38 | 25.46 | 46.2% |
| 8 | Jon Freemon | 21 | 4.76 | 4.57 | 0.19 | 23.90 | 57.1% |
| 9 | Ramy Touchan | 11 | 4.73 | 4.55 | 0.18 | 25.91 | 54.5% |
| 10 | Drew Fischer | 22 | 4.68 | 4.55 | 0.14 | 25.45 | 50% |
| 10 | Rosendo Mendoza | 22 | 4.68 | 4.55 | 0.14 | 26.14 | 45.5% |
| 12 | Fotis Bazakos | 18 | 4.67 | 4.56 | 0.11 | 24.50 | 55.6% |
| 13 | Ricardo Fierro | 11 | 4.45 | 4.09 | 0.36 | 28.45 | 36.4% |
| 14 | Armando Villarreal | 15 | 4.33 | 4.33 | 0.00 | 25.20 | 40% |
| 15 | Elijio Arreguin | 13 | 4.31 | 4.15 | 0.15 | 28.62 | 46.2% |
| 16 | Ismail Elfath | 16 | 4.25 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 21.63 | 31.3% |
| 17 | Rubiel Vazquez | 22 | 4.05 | 3.86 | 0.18 | 22.77 | 31.8% |
| 18 | Filip Dujic | 19 | 4.00 | 3.79 | 0.21 | 25.63 | 31.6% |
| 18 | Sergii Boiko | 16 | 4.00 | 3.81 | 0.19 | 19.69 | 31.3% |
| 18 | Tori Penso | 17 | 4.00 | 3.94 | 0.06 | 19.29 | 35.3% |
| 21 | Sergii Demianchuk | 14 | 3.64 | 3.64 | 0.00 | 23.64 | 35.7% |
| 21 | Timothy Ford | 14 | 3.64 | 3.43 | 0.21 | 21.79 | 21.4% |
| 23 | Allen Chapman | 22 | 3.59 | 3.41 | 0.18 | 18.09 | 27.3% |
| 24 | Lorenzo Hernandez | 16 | 3.56 | 3.44 | 0.13 | 21.69 | 25% |
| 25 | Pierre Luce Lauziere | 19 | 3.42 | 3.42 | 0.00 | 24.26 | 21.1% |
| 26 | Marcos de Oliveira | 14 | 2.93 | 2.93 | 0.00 | 26.07 | 7.1% |
| 27 | Jair Marrufo | 13 | 1.92 | 1.85 | 0.08 | 19.77 | 15.4% |
Referees, cards and picks for MLS in the app
Scout Picks checks these stats against your bookmaker's odds and shows you which angles hold up in every match.
See picks in the appReferees with fewer than 10 matches
No averages: with so few matches, a single one would move them too much.
| Referee | Matches | Cards (total) |
|---|---|---|
| Nabil Bensalah | 6 | 20 |
| Joshua Encarnación | 5 | 26 |
| Brandon Stevis | 3 | 10 |
| Lukasz Szpala | 2 | 4 |
| Rodrigo Albuquerque | 2 | 12 |
| Abdou Ndiaye | 1 | 4 |
| Daniel Radford | 1 | 5 |
| Edvin Jurisevic | 1 | 5 |
| Katja Koroleva | 1 | 7 |
| Logan Brown | 1 | 5 |
| Mathew Corrigan | 1 | 5 |
| Michael Radchuk | 1 | 10 |
| Michael Venne | 1 | 7 |
| Muhammad Kaleia | 1 | 5 |
Finished league matches, regular season and knockouts, with full stats for both teams. Cards = yellows + reds of both teams; the league average counts all its matches in the same period.
See picks in the app