Who is Sai Martinez, the Qatar-Switzerland referee who will become Honduras’ first World Cup head official?

Qatar begins its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign against Switzerland in a Group B match at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday.

Honduras’ Said Martinez will be the chief referee for the match, which will be a historic World Cup assignment for him.

The 34-year-old has been on FIFA’s roster since 2017 and will become the first Honduran to take charge of a FIFA World Cup match as chief referee.

Who is Said Martinez and what is his refereeing record?

Said Martinez is from Honduras and is not exactly a lenient referee. According to available statistics, he has shown 688 yellow cards and 30 red cards in 165 matches, with an average of 4.17 yellow cards per match. That makes him a solid official, but not someone who receives unusually heavy red cards.

Martinez has also officiated key CONCACAF matches, including the 2021 and 2023 Gold Cup finals, the 2023 Concacaf Nations League finals and the 2025 Concacaf Nations League semi-finals.

Full list of match officials for Qatar vs Switzerland

• Referee: Saïd Martinez (Honduras)

• Assistant referee 1: Walter López (Honduras)

• Assistant referee 2: Christian Ramírez (Honduras)

• Fourth official: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

• Reserve assistant referee: Caleb Wales (Trinidad and Tobago)

• Video assistant referee: Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)

Published on June 13, 2026