Silviu Petrescu

Canadian soccer referee

Silviu Petrescu
Domestic
Petrescu in 2016
Full name	Silviu Petrescu
Born	(1968-10-06) October 6, 1968 (age 55) Brașov, Romania
Other occupation	Taxicab Driver
Years	League	Role
1999	CPSL	Referee
2006–	MLS	Referee
2008–	Canadian Championship	Referee
2009–	United Soccer League	Referee
2019–	Canadian Premier League	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2002–2013	FIFA listed	Referee

Silviu Petrescu (born October 6, 1968) is a Canadian professional soccer referee.^[1] He officiates matches in the Canadian Premier League, Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League, and is a member of the Professional Referee Organization.^[2]

He was a FIFA listed referee until 2013 and officiated matches at the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.^[3] He has officiated several tournament finals at the domestic level, including the 2003 Jubilee Trophy, the 2006 CIS Men's Soccer Championship, the 2012 MLS Cup, one leg at each of the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 Canadian Championship finals, and the single match 2020 Canadian Championship Final.^[3]

Career

Petrescu was born and raised in Brașov, Romania, where he played soccer with local side Metrom Brașov. He began working as a referee in 1986, and would officiate matches in Divizia B before emigrating to Canada in 1995.^[4] Early in his career he officiated in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, where in 1999 he was named the CPSL Referee of the Year.^[5]^[6] As a Canadian Soccer Association referee, he became FIFA listed in 2002 and has been officiating in Major League Soccer since 2006.^[7]

He has also officiated in CONCACAF tournaments along with other national and international tournaments and fixtures, from friendlies to World Cup qualifying matches. When the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was held that summer in Canada, he was selected to be one of the tournament's officials.^[1]

In November 2012, Major League Soccer named Petrescu the MLS Referee of the Year, the first Canadian to win the title. Soon after it was announced that he would serve as the head referee for the MLS Cup 2012 final.^[8]

In November 2013, Petrescu officiated his final international match, a friendly between Brazil and Chile played at BMO Field in Toronto, due to a rule preventing referees over the age of 45 from remaining FIFA Listed.^[9]

Personal life

Silviu Petrescu's father, who was also a FIFA referee, encouraged him to become a referee rather than a professional player. He had previously played in the premier Romanian division for three years while stationed in the army.^[10]

Petrescu lives in Waterloo, Ontario, where he also works as a taxi driver, partly because it gives him the flexibility to work around his refereeing schedule.^[11]

Honours

MLS Referee of the Year: 2012^[12]
Ray Morgan Memorial Award: 2013^[13]

Card statistics

Major League Soccer
Season	G	Tot	PG	Tot	PG
2013	19	71	3.74	3	0.16
2014	15	39	2.6	0	0

Updated to matches played on November 3, 2014.
Source: http://www.proreferees.com/stats-referee-stats.php

References

^ ^a ^b Petrescu bio page worldreferee.com, July 6, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2012. "Silviu Petrescu Bio"
^ "PRO Referee Roster". PROreferees.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Silviu Petrescu". Canada Soccer. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^ Neculai, Alexandru (December 17, 2012). "Silviu Petrescu - un arbitru român care a ajuns numărul 1 în America de Nord" (in Romanian). Sport Câmpina.
^ "CPSL 1999 Award Winners". rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
^ "EXTENDED STAY FOR CSL PLAYERS AT EMPOLI CAMP IN ITALY…… Silviu Petrescu MLS Ref of Year – Canadian Soccer League". Retrieved March 7, 2019.
^ "Silviu Petrescu – Professional Referee Organization". Retrieved June 19, 2019.
^ Petrescu's prepared for "biggest moment" Archived September 19, 2015, at the Wayback Machine proreferees.com, November 24, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012. "Petrescu's prepared for biggest moment"
^ "Petrescu concludes international career with high-profile friendly". Canada Soccer. November 19, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^ Petrescu Did you know? page worldreferee.com, July 6, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2012. "Silviu Petrescu Did you know?"
^ Video of Petrescu's working lives Archived September 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine One of Us, August 16, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2012. "Silviu Petrescu – FIFA referee and local taxi driver."
^ "Canadian Petrescu named 2012 Referee of the Year". MLSsoccer.com. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
^ "Ray Morgan Memorial Award". Canada Soccer. Retrieved July 10, 2019.