Baldomero Toledo (born February 6, 1970) is a Mexican-born American soccer referee.[1] He has been a Major League Soccer referee since 2004 and a FIFA referee from 2007 to 2017.[2][3]

Baldomero Toledo
Born (1970-02-06) February 6, 1970 (age 54)
Mexico
Other occupation Baker
Domestic
Years League Role
2004–2021 MLS Referee
2011–2017 NASL Referee
International
Years League Role
2007–2017 FIFA listed Referee

Career

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Toledo was born in Mexico, where he started refereeing at the age of 15 in local school leagues. Later, he moved to Southern California and continued working as a referee in local leagues until he made it to the U.S. Soccer academies.[4]

He was the referee for the 2008 MLS Cup,[2] the 2010 MLS Cup,[2] and the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.[5]

US Soccer hired Toledo as a full-time referee in 2007.[6] Toledo was selected to referee at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[7]

In 2017, Toledo was involved in a controversial situation when he refereed a friendly match between Mexico and Ghana, that Mexico won 1–0. Ghana's manager at the time, James Kwesi Appiah, complained that Toledo was assigned to the game: "I was really, really shocked that in a game like this they would allow a Mexican to be the center referee when we were playing Mexico", despite the fact that Toledo had worked in the United States for decades.[8]

Toledo retired following the 2021 MLS season.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "2014 MLS Roster" Archived May 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Referee Magazine.
  2. ^ a b c "Baldomero Toledo" Archived February 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. proreferees.com.
  3. ^ "Football Officials – Referees". FIFA.com.
  4. ^ "Baldomero Toledo". US Referee Connection. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Referee Assignment Announced 2016 US Open Cup Final". MLS Soccer. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  6. ^ "U.S. Soccer launches full-time pro ref program". Soccer America. February 22, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Marrufo and Toledo picked for Concacaf championship". Soccer America. May 19, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  8. ^ Bell, Arch (29 June 2017). "Ghana 'surprised' Mexican-American referee worked Mexico friendly". ESPN. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Five PRO officials retire – Professional Referee Organization ®". 19 December 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
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