João Pinheiro (referee)
Portuguese football referee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro (born 4 January 1988) is a Portuguese referee who officiates in the Primeira Liga. He has been a FIFA referee since 2016, and is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.[2]
| Full name | João Pedro da Silva Pinheiro[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
4 January 1988 Braga, Portugal | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2014– | LigaPro | Referee | |
| 2015– | Primeira Liga | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2016– | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Refereeing career
In 2015, Pinheiro began officiating in the Primeira Liga. His first match as referee was on 20 September 2015 between Académica and Boavista.[3] In 2016, he was put on the FIFA referees list. He officiated his first senior international match on 23 March 2019 between Brazil and Panama. He has also officiated matches in the Egyptian Premier League and Saudi Professional League in 2019.
In 2019, he was appointed to officiate the 2019 Taça da Liga Final, taking place on 26 January 2019 between Porto and Sporting CP.[4] On February 2022, he was appointed to officiate the Portuguese derby, FC Porto vs. Sporting CP, an ugly football game, and his decisions caused some criticism in the media.[5]
On 13 August 2025, he was appointed to referee the 2025 UEFA Super Cup between PSG and Tottenham Hotspur.
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