# Being a trailblazing World Cup referee with Tori Penso

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/full-time-a-show-about-women-s-soccer-725028/being-a-trailblazing-world-cup-referee-with-tori-penso
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/full-time-a-show-about-women-s-soccer-725028/being-a-trailblazing-world-cup-referee-with-tori-penso.md
Podcast: [Full Time: A show about women's soccer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/full-time-a-show-about-women-s-soccer-725028)
Published: 2026-07-22T10:59:51+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/full-time-a-show-about-womens-soccer/episodes/inside-refereeing-2026-world-cup-trailblazer-tori-penso
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6818801871c041c8cc75b143/e/6a60811022500f71208d0b93/media.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/full-time-a-show-about-women-s-soccer-725028/episodes/being-a-trailblazing-world-cup-referee-with-tori-penso
Duration seconds: 3138

## Resource

This summer, Tori Penso became the first American woman to be a head referee at a men’s World Cup match. That piece of soccer history followed on from her taking the women’s World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, three years ago. Along with her assistants, Brooke Mayo and Kathrin Nesbitt, Penso has been blazing a trail for women referees in the men’s and women’s games. So, what is it like to referee at a World Cup? On this episode of Full Time , hosts Meg Linehan and Tamerra Griffin are joined by Penso to take the listener inside the World Cup from a referee’s perspective. The interview also unpacks Penso’s journey to being one of the world’s elite officials, how technology is impacting her profession, and what she wants fans and players alike to know about what it’s like to be under so much scrutiny on the pitch. ______________ HOSTS: Meg Linehan, Tamerra Griffin GUEST: Tori Penso PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes ______________ Get in touch:  ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠ Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime Subscribe to our Youtube channel: here Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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