Joe Dickerson never envisioned himself stepping into the role of a referee. Initially, as a player, he learned that officiating was a way to earn extra income, grasp responsibility, and, crucially for his team, deepen his understanding of the sport.
What began as small officiating gigs in the San Jose area has flourished into a distinguished career, culminating in his recognition as US Soccer’s male referee of the year in 2025. His meticulous attention to detail has positioned him to play a pivotal role as a VAR official in the upcoming World Cup this summer.
“There was a time when early in my career – and part of this goes through today: I hate going to the monitor,” Dickerson shared. “I hate it because it means I’ve probably made a mistake and I want to be perfect on the field.”
As time has passed, Dickerson has learned to accept, if not embrace, the necessity of the monitor. This adaptability will serve him well as he finds himself frequently utilizing it from the VAR booth during the tournament across North America.
Among numerous officials scrutinized by FIFA in the lead-up to the World Cup, Dickerson was considered for either center officiating or VAR duties during the event. He will serve as an advisor to the main referee, alerting them to critical plays under review. He believes that his initial hesitation toward using the monitor will aid him in setting the right tone when recommending that a referee reassess a decision.
“The vast majority of mistakes made at a World Cup by the best referees in the world are minor,” he explained. “Well, minor’s the wrong word; they’re really difficult. They’re subtle, specific, or they were really hard to see. These are the ones that nobody ever faults referees for missing.”
In addition to his officiating career, Dickerson is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Chicago. His thesis will delve into Machiavelli’s political philosophy, with a case study examining its relevance to refereeing. Although the connection might seem unusual, Dickerson finds it quite clear from his perspective.
“The short version is, I think Machiavelli makes a case for empathy and leadership through some hidden teachings in his otherwise very amoral pragmatism in his writing,” he said. “I also really like Nietzsche and Confucius. The reason I bring that up is because I think that a lot of these things that we learn in refereeing are very philosophical, and they can apply to many aspects of life.”
VAR has sparked philosophical discussions within soccer circles almost since its inception. Recently, criticism has intensified, particularly with several controversial calls impacting title races and promotion or relegation battles. In February, UEFA’s refereeing director cautioned that the process had become “too microscopic.” By the end of the European club season, the Premier League opted against expanding VAR’s authority to include potential corner kicks, a matter FIFA now requires to be checked for this World Cup.
Dickerson believes that the distinct nature of international tournaments compared to club football is advantageous for referees during this World Cup. In a league setting, the abundance of matches over several months can keep outliers in the spotlight.
“All FIFA events, and specifically the World Cups, are unique in that they are tournaments,” Dickerson noted, “and they are highly visible, very short tournaments.”
Ten years into VAR’s implementation, the most debated calls often involve handballs, situations where a player gains possession before making contact with an opponent or instances where attackers initiate contact to draw a foul. Every World Cup referee scrutinizes these scenarios in a compilation shown at refereeing seminars, the most recent of which was held in Brazil.
“We do a 10-day seminar to make sure that we are as consistent as can possibly be on all the decisions,” Dickerson stated. “We know that 90-something percent of the decisions we will see at the World Cup, we will consider almost black and white, even if the footballing public doesn’t. We have spent so much time looking at all of these clips so we know ‘that’s a handball’, ‘that’s a penalty’, ‘that’s a red card’, ‘that’s a yellow card’.”
Currently, the VAR booth comprises three officials: the video assistant referee, who communicates with the referee throughout the match; a support VAR who monitors the game while the VAR reviews potential contentious calls; and an assistant VAR who takes notes that the VAR is unable to jot down during reviews. Each individual has received the same training, enabling the team to assess reviews with the benefit of multiple perspectives.
While not everyone may appreciate video review, and even center officials might share that sentiment, it’s clear that VAR will inevitably play a significant role in this World Cup.
“You can’t eliminate the public’s bias from any analysis of VAR,” Dickerson remarked, “and that’s not a bad thing. I love going to stadiums that I would consider are hostile, because it tells me that the fans are incredibly passionate about the game. I think that’s one of the beautiful things about the sport.”
“The other beautiful thing about the sport is the subjectivity. When you combine subjectivity with inherent bias and high emotions, you get a lot of strong opinions about things like VAR decisions.”
