Ricardo Valenzuela

Ricardo Andres Valenzuela (born February 7, 1964) is a United States former football (soccer) referee from Richmond, California, who officiated for the U.S. Soccer Federation in various leagues and competitions, as assigned. He was also a FIFA referee. His other occupation is as a schoolteacher. He first took up refereeing in 1982, officiating in youth soccer in New Mexico, and progressed to become a FIFA referee in 1999. In the lead-up to the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament, he was appointed to a friendly match between the United States and Canada at the Civic Stadium, Oregon, on June 6, 1999, which finished 4–2 to the USA women. On July 13 of that year, he also oversaw the representative friendly at the Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado, between the United States men's national soccer team and Derby County, from the East Midlands of England, which the United States won 2–1. He was in charge of one of the semi-finals in the 2001 U.S. Open Cup, between Los Angeles Galaxy and...