In Part 2 of the deep dive into referee kits at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we’ll look at the first of many special kits, and take a bit of a foray into the group stage findings when it comes to kit matchups and the age-old question of what constitutes a “clash” — let’s dive right in.
Always bet on black?
Four years ago in Qatar—in a trend then followed in the subsequent Women’s World Cup in Australia—there was a very clear preference for referees to wear black when possible, an anecdote confirmed by FIFA Referee chief Pierluigi Collina when appointing Tori Penso as the referee of the aforementioned WWC Final.
FIFA typically release media documents laying out the kit combinations for the group stage well in advance of the tournament, and this one was no different.
In keeping with the ‘recent’ (i.e. last decade) push for teams to feature all of their kits in the group stage to maximize marketing exposure, my initial impression upon seeing some of the referee colour selections was also that it seemed like there wasn’t necessarily a de-facto first choice, in contrast to 2022.
Indeed, in two of the first three matches, referees wore the “green” (more like a bright teal) kit when black could have easily been used, and potentially even preferred.
A World Cup first, and second
One match in the media guide stuck out, as it showed an as-yet unreleased kit colourway. A pastel pink shade appeared in the Saudi Arabia v Uruguay fixture in Group H – curiously, unless you were to have a referee-goalkeeper colour ‘clash’, none of the five main referee colours likely would have been suitable. So, at first glance, it appeared as an emergency workaround for that particular match.
However, the day before the game, FIFA provided a very interesting explanation for the new colour.
A special-occasion piece of referee fashion, appropriately, for an Italian crew. Whether the team colours contributed to this decision or not is unknown, but it’s certainly a statement from FIFA that there are no limits to any aspirations of aesthetic prestige for the tournament.
It was to be the first time a pink referee jersey was worn at a World Cup. However, the shirt wasn’t the only surprise.
When the teams came out, referee Maurizio Mariani and crew had matching pink socks as well.
Though playing around with matching (and sometimes un-matching) sock colours is exceptionally commonplace in UEFA—some might argue a little over-the-top, but I digress—it is virtually unheard of in FIFA competitions.
In fact, it’s only the second time in FIFA World Cup history that referees wore non-black socks. The first? You’d have to go back nearly 50 years, to June 11, 1978 — when Scotland played the Netherlands and referee Erich Linemayr trotted out an absolutely outstanding look, all-red from top to toe.
Adding to the stupefying nature of this outfit was that, with Holland’s orange shorts and socks plus Scotland’s red socks, the ‘alternate’ referee kit probably created more of a clash than the standard all-black would have.
In any case, it seems Pandora’s box has been opened with FIFA and matching socks — it will be interesting to see if it’s a one-off experiment or a sign of things to come.
