LIGA MX
The first female referee in the Liga MX in 20 years
Katia Itzel García will be in charge of the game between Pachuca and Querétaro on matchday 11 of the Clausura 2024.
Virginia Tovar was the last female referee to whistle an official Liga MX match. Tovar was placed in charge of the game between Irapuato and América at Sergio León Chávez Stadium on matchday 4 of the Clausura on 22 February 2004. The locals, the ‘Trinca fresera’ won the game 2-1 but since then, a woman has not directed a soccer match in the Mexican top flight as the central referee.
Until now... This weekend, on matchday 11 of the Clausura 2024, a female ref will be in charge of dispensing justice in Mexican soccer. Katia Itzel García will oversee Saturday’s game between Pachuca and Querétaroat at Hidalgo stadium. She will be accompanied by Alberto Morín, Erick Durón and fourth official Ismael Rosario López. The news was announced by the arbitration appointments of the Mexican Football Federation and the arbitration commission for matchday 11 of Clausura 2024.
Katia Itzel García Mendoza, was born on 1 September 1992 in Mexico City and is a licensed referee. She has a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from UNAM, where she was a member of the soccer team, playing in defensive positions and occasionally in midfield.
Katia García: Eight years as a professional
According to her profile with the Arbitration Commission, Katia ventured into amateur refereeing in 2015 and went professional a year later. She debuted in the Liga TDP (the fourth tier of Mexican soccer) before continuing her career in the LIGA MX lower categories: Under-13, Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20 divisions as well as the LIGA MX Femenil and Liga de Expansión MX.
Her greatest achievements in national football so far have been participating in three Liga MX finals: in the Clausura 2022 of the Liga MX Under-20, in the Campeón de Campeones 2021-2022 and in the 2022 Apertura Final, both in the Liga MX Femenil. On an international level, she has taken part in the She Believes Cup; Concacaf U-17, U-20 and 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, refereeing the final between the USWNT and Canada. She was also designated for the U17 Women’s World Cup in India, where she whistled the grand final between Colombia and Spain.
Last summer, she was appointed to officiate at the Australia/New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup in which she was involved in two games: New Zealand vs Philippines and Ireland vs Nigeria. She has been a FIFA-licensed referee since 2019 and in 2022 she received the internationally-approved badge to officiate FIFA tournaments as a VAR referee.