Wilton Sampaio


Wilton Pereira Sampaio is a Brazilian football referee. He has been on FIFA's list of international referees since 2013. His younger brother Sávio Pereira Sampaio is also a referee and on FIFA's list since 2022.

Professional

Sampaio began refereeing at age 15, qualified in Brasília in 2000 and currently represents the Federação Goiana de Futebol and FIFA. He was elected as one of the best referees in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championships.
Sampaio was considered too short by Brazilian referee head, Armando Marques, but after Marques left in 2005, Sampaio was given more high profile games.
Sampaio was part of the video assistant referee team when it was introduced in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He also refereed in both the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.