Who is Wilton Sampaio, the World Cup opener referee?

Sampaio sends off three players in chaotic World Cup opener

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio took charge of the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday and found himself at the centre of a historic and deeply controversial night, issuing three red cards in the second half alone as Mexico won 2-0.

The triple dismissal of Sphephelo Sithole, Themba Zwane and César Montes made it the first opening match in World Cup history to feature three red cards. For context, there were only four red cards across the entire 2022 World Cup in Qatar. There have been three in the opening game of the 2026 tournament alone.

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Sampaio, 44, was born in Teresina de Goias, Brazil, and made his professional refereeing debut in Brazil’s top flight in 2009. By 2012 he had been recognised among the best referees in the Brasileirão, and earned his FIFA badge a year later. Thursday’s match marked his third World Cup assignment, having previously officiated at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.

Mexico dominated the first half, creating multiple clear-cut opportunities while South Africa managed none. Julián Quiñones opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a smart finish after a misunderstanding between goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and defensive midfielder Yaya Sithole.

Sithole was then given a straight red card in the second half for bringing down Bryan Gutiérrez through on goal, with Sampaio taking no time in giving him his marching orders. Raúl Jiménez doubled Mexico’s lead in the 67th minute, heading in Roberto Alvarado’s cross at the back post for his first ever World Cup goal. The 35-year-old, who suffered a serious head injury in 2020 that threatened his career, was visibly emotional after scoring.

Sampaio was guided by VAR six minutes before the end of regular time as South Africa were reduced to nine players. Themba Zwane’s red card was issued for a dangerous play without the ball.

Then Mexico defender César Montes was controversially given his marching orders by Sampaio for stopping a South Africa counter on the edge of the box. Despite the South African attacker having a long way to go to goal, Montes was sent down the tunnel, even after VAR checked the incident. The decision drew a cacophony of boos from the 80,824-strong crowd.

ITV Sport referee analyst Christina Unkel defended the call, saying it was “not a clear and obvious error to overturn the referee decision.” Former England forward Chris Sutton disagreed, calling it harsh, while former Scotland striker Ally McCoist described the decision as “extremely harsh.”

This is not the first World Cup game to see three straight reds. The last time it happened, South Africa were also involved, when they played Denmark in 1998.

Sampaio’s appointment had already carried baggage into the tournament. After England’s quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, which he refereed, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville said on ITV: “The referee, I thought he had an absolute nightmare. I am not saying that was all down to England’s defeat, people will say that’s excuses, but he was just a bad referee. Rank, bad.”

His tendency toward card-heavy officiating is well documented. Since September 2025, he has issued 12 red cards in 31 games. After three Copa Libertadores matches last season, he produced 14 yellow cards and one red card, and handed out 12 yellows across just two Brasileirão fixtures.

Mexico, coming off a first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup, now has three points in Group A and will next play South Korea on Thursday in Guadalajara. South Africa will face Czechia on the same day in Atlanta.