World Cup fixtures Andrés Rojas is officiating will be listed here once the tournament is underway
World Cup Referees: Who are the Most Card-Happy Officials at World Cup 2026?
The referees in charge at World Cup 2026 have now been announced by FIFA, giving us the chance to assess which officials might be the most likely to reach for the cards once the action gets underway.
There are plenty of World Cup booking odds on offer and knowing which referees are the strictest can help you spot value prices. Below we look into the most card-happy refs that could have an impact on popular booking markets.
📊 Top 10 Strictest World Cup Referees (Ranked by Yellow Cards)
| Rank | Referee | Nationality | Yellows / Game | Reds / Game | Pens / Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrés Rojas | Colombia | 5.52 | 0.38 | 0.31 |
| 2 | Alejandro Hernández | Mexico | 5.41 | 0.35 | 0.31 |
| 3 | István Kovács | Romania | 5.24 | 0.35 | 0.32 |
| 4 | Kevin Ortega | Peru | 5.22 | 0.37 | 0.47 |
| 5 | Héctor Said Martínez | Honduras | 5.21 | 0.66 | 0.46 |
| 6 | Yael Falcón Pérez | Argentina | 5.18 | 0.25 | 0.27 |
| 7 | Ivan Barton | El Salvador | 5.13 | 0.47 | 0.47 |
| 8 | Gustavo Tejera | Uruguay | 5.05 | 0.29 | 0.33 |
| 9 | Wilton Sampaio | Brazil | 5.05 | 0.29 | 0.28 |
| 10 | Jesús Valenzuela | Venezuela | 4.96 | 0.30 | 0.28 |
ℹ️ Booking stats are taken from the time the article was written and may have altered slightly since | The stats are based over a referee’s career so far to help provide insight into their general booking behaviour.
1# Andrés Rojas – Colombia
Colombia’s Andrés Rojas is the referee with the highest yellow card per match average of the officials at the 2026 World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico.
At the time of writing, he has shown 1958 yellow cards and 135 red cards in 353 fixtures and gives an average of 5.52 yellow cards per game.
2# Alejandro Hernández – Mexico
Mexican official Alejandro Hernández is another at the top of the yellow cards per game table and is another whose World Cup matches should be considered for booking betting markets.
At the time of writing, he has shown 2581 yellow cards and 166 red cards in 477 fixtures and gives an average of 5.41 yellow cards per game.
3# István Kovács – Romania
The top three also includes István Kovács from Romania. He has shown 3128 yellow cards and 207 red cards in 597 fixtures and gives an average of 5.24 yellow cards per game.
🟨 World Cup Referee Yellow Card Averages (Highest → Lowest) – Full Table
| Rank | Referee | Nationality | Yellows / Game | Reds / Game | Pens / Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrés Rojas | Colombia | 5.52 | 0.38 | 0.31 |
| 2 | Alejandro Hernández | Mexico | 5.41 | 0.35 | 0.31 |
| 3 | István Kovács | Romania | 5.24 | 0.35 | 0.32 |
| 4 | Kevin Ortega | Peru | 5.22 | 0.37 | 0.47 |
| 5 | Héctor Said Martínez | Honduras | 5.21 | 0.66 | 0.46 |
| 6 | Yael Falcón Pérez | Argentina | 5.18 | 0.25 | 0.27 |
| 7 | Ivan Barton | El Salvador | 5.13 | 0.47 | 0.47 |
| 8 | Gustavo Tejera | Uruguay | 5.05 | 0.29 | 0.33 |
| 9 | Wilton Sampaio | Brazil | 5.05 | 0.29 | 0.28 |
| 10 | Jesús Valenzuela | Venezuela | 4.96 | 0.30 | 0.28 |
| 11 | Dario Herrera | Argentina | 4.96 | 0.36 | 0.28 |
| 12 | Facundo Tello | Argentina | 4.69 | 0.35 | 0.26 |
| 13 | Ramón Abatti | Brazil | 4.60 | 0.26 | 0.25 |
| 14 | João Pinheiro | Portugal | 4.51 | 0.19 | 0.33 |
| 15 | Maurizio Mariani | Italy | 4.41 | 0.35 | 0.34 |
| 16 | Juan Gabriel Benítez | Paraguay | 4.39 | 0.33 | 0.33 |
| 17 | Oshane Nation | Jamaica | 4.33 | 0.19 | 0.22 |
| 18 | Juan Calderón | Guatemala | 4.33 | 0.33 | 0.34 |
| 19 | Felix Zwayer | Germany | 4.31 | 0.20 | 0.29 |
| 20 | Sandro Schärer | Switzerland | 4.25 | 0.25 | 0.34 |
| 21 | César Ramos | Mexico | 4.24 | 0.39 | 0.29 |
| 22 | Ning Ma | China | 4.24 | 0.28 | 0.34 |
| 23 | Slavko Vinčić | Slovenia | 4.17 | 0.22 | 0.24 |
| 24 | Raphael Claus | Brazil | 4.16 | 0.24 | 0.27 |
| 25 | Cristian Garay | Chile | 4.14 | 0.33 | 0.27 |
| 26 | Abongile Tom | South Africa | 4.14 | 0.21 | 0.32 |
| 27 | Katia García | Mexico | 4.13 | 0.12 | 0.22 |
| 28 | Ilgiz Tantashev | Uzbekistan | 4.11 | 0.26 | 0.34 |
| 29 | Szymon Marciniak | Poland | 4.07 | 0.23 | 0.42 |
| 30 | Abdulrahman Al Jassim | Qatar | 4.00 | 0.19 | 0.45 |
| 31 | Mustapha Ghorbal | Algeria | 3.94 | 0.22 | 0.38 |
| 32 | Omar Al Ali | UAE | 3.84 | 0.32 | 0.48 |
| 33 | Tori Penso | United States | 3.82 | 0.11 | 0.28 |
| 34 | Alireza Faghani | Australia | 3.78 | 0.19 | 0.26 |
| 35 | François Letexier | France | 3.77 | 0.28 | 0.34 |
| 36 | Pierre Atcho | Gabon | 3.74 | 0.09 | 0.14 |
| 37 | Dahane Beida | Mauritania | 3.73 | 0.17 | 0.33 |
| 38 | Ismail Elfath | United States | 3.68 | 0.25 | 0.32 |
| 39 | Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh | New Zealand | 3.57 | 0.30 | 0.45 |
| 40 | Adham Makhadmeh | Jordan | 3.56 | 0.14 | 0.25 |
| 41 | Amin Mohamed | Egypt | 3.52 | 0.21 | 0.34 |
| 42 | Anthony Taylor | England | 3.51 | 0.18 | 0.31 |
| 43 | Khalid Al Turais | Saudi Arabia | 3.44 | 0.17 | 0.41 |
| 44 | Omar Abdulkadir Artan | Somalia | 3.37 | 0.07 | 0.19 |
| 45 | Drew Fischer | Canada | 3.28 | 0.16 | 0.30 |
| 46 | Michael Oliver | England | 3.27 | 0.15 | 0.31 |
| 47 | Jalal Jayed | Morocco | 3.25 | 0.16 | 0.50 |
| 48 | Espen Eskås | Norway | 3.23 | 0.12 | 0.30 |
| 49 | Danny Makkelie | Netherlands | 3.22 | 0.24 | 0.30 |
| 50 | Clement Turpin | France | 3.21 | 0.26 | 0.35 |
| 51 | Glenn Nyberg | Sweden | 3.07 | 0.13 | 0.18 |
| 52 | Yusuke Araki | Japan | 2.69 | 0.13 | 0.22 |
ℹ️ Booking stats are taken from the time the article was written and may have altered slightly since | The stats are based over a referee’s career so far to help provide insight into their general booking behaviour.
📈 Over/Under Betting Model (Cards Per Match)
When it comes to booking bets at the 2026 World Cup, there are plenty of markets to explore. Maybe one of the most popular to consider based on the above referee stats is the over/under cards per match markets.
🎯 How the Model Works
Each referee’s average yellow card per game becomes a baseline expectation and we define two key betting bands and the refs that fall into them.
🟥 High card refs (OVER lean)
- 4.50+ yellows/game
- Strong tendency to go over most common lines (3.5 / 4.5)
🟩 Low card refs (UNDER lean)
- < 3.50
- Strong under bias on standard lines
🟥 OVER-LEAN Results (High Card Referees)
(4.50+ yellows/game — strong Over 3.5 / 4.5 bias)
- Andrés Rojas (Colombia) — 5.52 Y/G | 0.38 R/G
- Alejandro Hernández (Mexico) — 5.41 Y/G | 0.35 R/G
- István Kovács (Romania) — 5.24 Y/G | 0.35 R/G
- Kevin Ortega (Peru) — 5.22 Y/G | 0.37 R/G
- Héctor Said Martínez (Honduras) — 5.21 Y/G | 0.66 R/G
- Yael Falcón Pérez (Argentina) — 5.18 Y/G | 0.25 R/G
- Ivan Barton (El Salvador) — 5.13 Y/G | 0.47 R/G
- Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay) — 5.05 Y/G | 0.29 R/G
- Wilton Sampaio (Brazil) — 5.05 Y/G | 0.29 R/G
- Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela) — 4.96 Y/G | 0.30 R/G
- Dario Herrera (Argentina) — 4.96 Y/G | 0.36 R/G
- Facundo Tello (Argentina) — 4.69 Y/G | 0.35 R/G
- Ramón Abatti (Brazil) — 4.60 Y/G | 0.26 R/G
- João Pinheiro (Portugal) — 4.51 Y/G | 0.19 R/G
Total: 14 refs
🟩 UNDER-LEAN Results (Low Card Referees)
(< 3.50 yellows/game — strong Under bias)
- Drew Fischer (Canada) — 3.28 Y/G | 0.16 R/G
- Michael Oliver (England) — 3.27 Y/G | 0.15 R/G
- Jalal Jayed (Morocco) — 3.25 Y/G | 0.16 R/G
- Espen Eskås (Norway) — 3.23 Y/G | 0.12 R/G
- Danny Makkelie (Netherlands) — 3.22 Y/G | 0.24 R/G
- Clement Turpin (France) — 3.21 Y/G | 0.26 R/G
- Glenn Nyberg (Sweden) — 3.07 Y/G | 0.13 R/G
- Yusuke Araki (Japan) — 2.69 Y/G | 0.13 R/G
Total: 8 refs
🟥Consider How Red Cards Can Alter Ref Stats
While focusing on yellow cards per game is a good indicator for general match booking bets, especially when betting over/under markets, it is sometimes also worth considering how red cards could change things.
Red card betting is also possible with the best soccer betting sites so could be considered when certain officials are in charge.
⚠️ Key Insights
Reds materially change tiers
- Several refs jump up a full tier due to red card frequency
- Héctor Said Martínez → massive 0.66 reds/game → becomes one of the strictest overall
The pool becomes EVEN MORE over-leaning
- Elite + Strict tiers dominate when reds are factored in
- True ‘under refs’ become extremely rare
👉 This explains why:
- Over 3.5 is often priced aggressively
- Value often shifts to Over 4.5 / 5.5 with elite refs
Hidden edge refs
These refs don’t look extreme on yellows alone but become strong overs with their reds also factored:
- Ivan Barton
- Kevin Ortega
- Szymon Marciniak
- Abdulrahman Al Jassim
Best Bookies for World Cup 2026 Booking Bets
Here is a list of the top five Australian betting sites that offer top goalscorer markets. For a more detailed breakdown of the best bookies and markets available you should check out our World Cup betting page, but these our the top five picks to get you started.
We are big fans of bet365, which is one of the first operators to price up match and booking markets in general. Unibet, which always has a wide range of odds and stats, is another top option.
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