Jair Marrufo

Who is Jair Marrufo?

Jair Marrufo is an American soccer referee of Mexican descent. He has been a referee in Major League Soccer since 2002 and a FIFA referee since 2007. His father, Antonio Marrufo, was a FIFA referee from Mexico and served on the Mexican Referee Commission. Jair Marrufo speaks fluent English and Spanish.

Marrufo was 2008 MLS Referee of the Year.

He was on the list of 38 referees to potentially referee the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Controversy resulted after the 2-2 tie between the Columbus Crew and Chicago Fire on 25 April 2009. Witnesses reported seeing Fire player and Mexican star Cuauhtémoc Blanco giving his jersey to the referees after the game.

Marrufo was suspended by MLS for the remainder of the 2009 MLS season as of September 1, 2009, for poor performances over the course of the season, and subsequently on February 5, 2010, Marrufo was removed from the 2010 World Cup referee list.

It was announced in 2013 that Marrufo would be a member of the newly formed Professional Referee Organization, the body responsible for refereeing appointments among North America's strongest soccer league.