World Taekwondo Announces Global List of 169 International Referees Towards LA 2028

The 2026–2028 Roster Marks a New Phase in Technical Oversight for WT Events

World Taekwondo moved forward in consolidating its new international refereeing framework with the creation of the Standing International Referee List 2026–2028, a global panel of 169 international referees that will serve as the operational foundation for the competitive cycle leading up to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

MASTKD had access to the World Taekwondo Standing International Referee List 2026–2028 document, issued under World Taekwondo’s institutional identification, which details the roster of the panel, including IR number, name, gender, country, and continent.

The roster reflects a global structure: 71 referees from Asia, 50 from Europe, 28 from the Pan American region, 17 from Africa, and 3 from Oceania. In terms of gender, the list shows a nearly balanced distribution, with 86 men and 83 women.

The new panel represents a strategic step within the referee evaluation, monitoring, and appointment system promoted by WT to raise technical standards at events organized and recognized by the sport’s governing body. The measure also paves the way for future Olympic and Paralympic appointments, under a model where sustained performance will play a key role.

MASTKD had previously reported that in January 2026, World Taekwondo held a series of selection and training camps for international referees in Rabat, Alicante, Sogamoso, and Astana, featuring technical, physical, rules-based, and communication assessments for candidates from different continents.

World Taekwondo completed Standing International Referee camps and set debut pathway toward LA28

With this list, WT not only defines who will be part of the new international panel but also establishes a technical control framework for a phase marked by rule changes, increased competitive demands, and the goal of strengthening refereeing consistency on the road to LA 2028.

Overall distribution of the panel

Total: 169 international referees
Asia: 71
Europe: 50
The Americas: 28
Africa: 17
Oceania: 3

Men: 86
Women: 83

World Taekwondo Standing International Referee List 2026–2028

Africa

Nadira Meziani — Algeria
Aflah Daoud — Algeria
Rostom Hadjnacer — Algeria
Walid H. Moustafa Gouda — Egypt
Noran Ezzat Hosny — Egypt
Mahmoud Hosny Ahmed Ibrahim Gomaa — Egypt
Yohannes Bogale Sima — Ethiopia
Kirubel Daniel Galo — Ethiopia
Muftah Zorgani — Libya
Majda Zahrani — Morocco
Belcaid Nisrine — Morocco
Thursdaline Peter — Nigeria
Ibrahim Issa Samsou — Niger
Seynabou Diouf — Senegal
Anouar Jlassi — Tunisia
Dhouha Yaakoubi — Tunisia
Faten Dridi — Tunisia

Asia

Saad Saad — Bahrain
Manar Alrayis — Bahrain
Wu Jianzhong — China
Luo Wei — China
Shen Ming — China
Jingchen Zhou — China
Shaoyu Wang — China
Chen Si — China
Xin Pang — China
Hui Wang — China
Rahadewineta — Indonesia
Sanny Harsono — Indonesia
Marjan Teimouri — Iran
Iman Akbarzadeh — Iran
Hassan Hatami — Iran
Seyedeh Mahnoosh Mazloumisadat — Iran
Masoumeh Bagheri Kalmarzi — Iran
Hossein Vahdi Khabaz — Iran
Bastam Ghanbari — Iran
Hooman Sadeghnia — Iran
Ali Nouri — Iran
Arezoo Jahani — Iran
Shamsi Alikhani — Iran
Mahmood Salam — Iraq
Ayman Jalal Al Adarbeh — Jordan
Mohammad Khader Hamad — Jordan
Mohammad Suleiman Al Thunibat — Jordan
Laith Othman — Jordan
Soomi Tomono — Japan
Nakano Satoshi — Japan
Ruslan Bakiyev — Kazakhstan
Dauren Algabayev — Kazakhstan
Malika Zhandayeva — Kazakhstan
Aidana Makhimova — Kazakhstan
Arailym Aimurzina — Kazakhstan
Ryskul Taalaibekova — Kyrgyzstan
Soo Hyeon Park — South Korea
Hee Young Kim — South Korea
Young Kyun Sim — South Korea
Ji Hyun Yeom — South Korea
Hyung Eun Lee — Korea
Ghazi Mubark Alghanem — Saudi Arabia
Abdulrahman Alamri — Saudi Arabia
Daniel Robert Khorassandjian — Lebanon
Taline Berbary — Lebanon
Marc Zeinoun — Lebanon
Nassab Hassan — Lebanon
Jeng Yen Lee — Malaysia
Yew Khar Ong — Malaysia
Shi Min Che — Malaysia
Erdenebaatar Naranchimeg — Mongolia
Lkhagvadorj Dugeree — Mongolia
Oyunbileg Zorigoo — Mongolia
Tumenjargal Nar — Mongolia
Ashok Khadka — Nepal
Kajal Shrestha — Nepal
Madonna B. Avenido — Philippines
Floramie Navales — Philippines
Amro Aqra — Palestine
Said Diab — Qatar
Abdul Wahed Ghazala — Syria
Jatuporn Hemwonno — Thailand
Pratchaya Phaophan — Thailand
Aitsaree Suphalerdjaruphat — Thailand
Alinazarov Vafonazar — Tajikistan
Hung Yu Chen — Chinese Taipei
Yu Ting Wu — Chinese Taipei
Ting-jung Chang — Chinese Taipei
Pei-ling Yu — Chinese Taipei
Dmitriy Kim — Uzbekistan
Evgeniy Shukparov — Uzbekistan

Europe

Sayed Ismael Saidi — Austria
Aygul Abdullayeva — Azerbaijan
Sadeghi Hassan — Belgium
Imad Elmarhraoui — Belgium
Moatassim Ajja — Belgium
Belmir Berberovic — Bosnia and Herzegovina
Viktoria Ivanova — Bulgaria
Emilia Taseva — Bulgaria
Renata Volaric — Croatia
Ivan Penava — Croatia
Valentina Ferenčak — Croatia
Renata Ruckova — Czech Republic
Sealove Dervishi — Denmark
Paula Remirez — Spain
Pablo Garcia Vaquez — Spain
Adrian Maceiras Maseda — Spain
Eugenio José Castrillo Fernández — Spain
Saeid Madadi Barough — Spain
Christine Bich Chieu Nguyen — France
Maud-Françoise Baylou — France
Jean Anthony Moreno — France
Robyn Lewsley — Great Britain
Sebastian Winter — Germany
Hakan Bagtas — Germany
Ahmad-Nebras Kazkaz — Germany
Ai Quynh Vo — Germany
Anastasia Koutrotsiou — Greece
Leila Alchukur — Hungary
Federico Zanette — Italy
Bruno Brugnano — Italy
Erika Fornaro — Italy
Antonietta Santaniello — Italy
Sophia Merlin — Italy
Keivan Shariatmadar — Luxembourg
Stefan Eugen Raileanu — Moldova
Maxim Gaus — Moldova
Pereu Sanda — Moldova
Meri Acevska — North Macedonia
Emine Kucukyildiz — Netherlands
Agnieszka Scheffler — Poland
Anthony Dos Santos — Portugal
Andrey Khegay — Russia
Denis Kim — Russia
Elena Belebezeva — Russia
Daria Ivanova — Russia
Nadezda Petrova — Russia
Mergim Krasniqi — Switzerland
Shahd Kiani — Sweden
Hassan Nesajer — Sweden
Bohdana Kotiash — Ukraine

Oceania

Nichola White — Australia
Diego Fernando Chiriff Fabra — Australia
Aaron Robert Dean — New Zealand

Pan America

Daniele Soares Martins — Brazil
Felipe Saula de Moraes — Brazil
Matiane Matias de Carvalho — Brazil
Henrique Martins — Brazil
Daniel Yong Jin Park — Canada
Alissa Juman — Canada
Victoria Turyk — Canada
Dania Gonzalez Cancino — Chile
Miguel Flavio Figueroa Veloso — Chile
Oscar Ortiz — Colombia
Rafael Esteban Florez Baron — Colombia
Aline Guadarrama — Cuba
Coralia Abadia — Guatemala
Araceli Ornelas Caballero — Mexico
Sandra Luz Guzman Lopez Velarde — Mexico
Susana Boyd Diaz — Panama
Christian Maldonado — Peru
Magaly del Pilar Balvin Gutierrez — Peru
Mickael Cruz — Puerto Rico
Leslie Cheung — United States
Suk Jung Kim — United States
Arnold Min Gyu Chung — United States
Caroline Castillo Inay-Park — United States
Makesha Yarbrough — United States
Valerie Holley — United States
Cristian Acevedo — United States
Jamsheed Mistri — United States
Martin Rodriguez — Venezuela