Who is the referee for Iran vs New Zealand?

General view of FIFA World Cup 2026 branding on the pitchside VAR screen at SoFi Stadium on June 09, 2026 in Los Angeles, California — SoFi Stadium will host Iran's meeting with New Zealand (Image credit: Getty Images)

All eyes will be on Inglewood Stadium on Monday night for the Group G fixture between Iran and New Zealand, with kick off set for 6pm local time (2am UK time).

Iran have had an notoriously troubled build-up to the World Cup, and have been forced to set up their training camp to Mexico and fly into the United States for any of their fixtures north of the border.

They will be hoping the football itself can take centre-stage when the game kicks off against New Zealand - so who's been given the job of refereeing the game?

Referee appointment for Iran vs New Zealand

Referee Cesar Arturo Ramos will be in charge of Iran vs New Zealand — Cesar Arturo Ramos has 20 years of experience as a referee (Image credit: Getty Images)

Neither side has ever made it out of the group stage of a World Cup before - in fact, New Zealand have never won a game across their two prior appearances, losing all three games in 1982 and drawing all three in 2010.

Iran went closest to the knockouts in 2018 despite being drawn in an extremely tough group alongside Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the Iberian sides pipping them by a single point.

Both sides will be treating this game between the third and fourth seeds as a must-win, and the man in the middle of it all will be Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos.

This will be Ramos' third World Cup in a row after making his debut at the competition in 2018.

The 42 year old is one of FIFA's most trusted referees, and has overseen a number of high-profile semi-final games: at the 2019 Asian Cup, the 2024 Copa America, and most notable of all, France's victory over Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. He also refereed the 2017 Club World Cup final.

Ramos has never shown a red card in his seven World Cup games to date - but he did have to brandish it three times in a single Club World Cup game last summer, sending off two for Boca Juniors and one for Benfica during a 2-2 draw in the group stage.

Ramos will be supported by assistants and countrymen Alberto Morin and Marco Bisguerra down the touchlines.

Cesar Arturo Ramos refereed France vs Morocco in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup — Cesar Arturto Ramos has never sent a player off at the World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Japan's Yusuke Araki is the fourth official, with Jun Mihara serving as the reserve official on the ground.

VAR will be led by another Mexican, Erick Miranda.

Joining him in the booth are Swiss Fedayi San and German Bastian Dankert.

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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.