Joe Dickerson


Joseph "Joe" Dickerson is an American soccer referee who officiates in the Major League Soccer since 2017 and as an international FIFA referee since 2023.

Biography and career

Dickerson is a native and a resident of Northern California, and he is also a graduate from the University of California, Davis, where he obtained various degrees in Exercise Biology and Communications.
He became a professional soccer referee in January 2013, and was listed in the Major League Soccer in October 2017, officiating his first match between Philadelphia Union vs. Orlando City. In the first seven years of his professional career inside the MLS, Dickerson has refereed at least 114 matches.
In June 2023, Dickerson received the FIFA International badge, taking charge of his first international match in the Gold Cup First Round game between Suriname and Puerto Rico. His second match on the international stage was a friendly game between Mexico and Ghana in Charlotte, North Carolina, and his third one was another friendly between the USMNT and Ghana in Nashville.
In August 2023, Dickerson refereed the U.S. Open Cup semifinal match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami at the TQL Stadium in Ohio.
Dickerson later served as a VAR official at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, as well as in the CONCACAF Nations League and the CONCACAF qualification matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In 2025, after a MLS game between Inter Miami and Orlando City, Dickerson had a verbal confrontation with Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, who questioned and disapproved of his refereeing. Dickerson warned Messi with a second yellow card and told him to "walk away."
Dickerson also refereed in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, leading a chaotic game between El Salvador and Canada, where he showed a straight red card to a Salvadoran player in the Canadians' victory 2-0.
In October 2025, Dickerson was appointed to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he officiated both as a match referee and a VAR official. He was assigned as the support referee at the final between Argentina and Morocco.
Dickerson is fluent in Spanish, aside from his native English, and has practiced many sports, including soccer, baseball, cross-country, rowing and cycling.