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ITV viewers will get used to seeing Christina Unkel over the next six weeks, and hearing her voice as she wades in on big refereeing decisions at World Cup 2026 and applies her expert opinion.
She was kept busy during the tournament's opening fixture between hosts Mexico and South Africa, with three red cards brandished by referee Wilton Sampaio.
But who is she, and what qualifies her to offer expertise on the big decisions?
Christina Unkel has appeared on ITV before - and she's back again this year
Unkel is a former FIFA-licenced referee, a job she held for many years after first picking up a whistle at the age of just ten years old.
She then went on to take charge of women's international fixtures across the globe, as well as refereeing in the top United States leagues.
After retiring from her refereeing career, Unkel now works as a VAR expert, making her broadcast debut during the Women's World Cup in 2019 with Fox.
She has also worked as a columnist for The Athletic and CBS Sports, where she has offered her expert opinion on refereeing, the laws of the game and even legal issues.
She was first heard on UK televisions during Euro 2024, when she was part of ITV's tournament coverage.
She is now back on our screens again this summer, taking up the same role for ITV for this year's World Cup.
In an interview with the LA Times in 2023, she said that her job isn't to be on the side of referees, but to explain their process and why certain decisions are made.
She said: "More often than not I usually can explain why we are correct or how we can get this better. Or why an official missed it.
"I’m educating the rest of the football community as to the decision and how they came to the decision, whether it was right or wrong, how is that they interpreted it.”
