Canada Soccer has named the referee crew for the inaugural match of the Canadian Premier League between York9 FC and Forge FC at Hamilton, ON’s Tim Hortons Field Saturday 27 April 2019 at 1 p.m. ET. FIFA Referee Dave Gantar will be the referee with FIFA Assistant Referee Phil Brière and Canada Soccer National List Assistant Referee Peter Pendli as assistants and Canada Soccer National List Referee Yusri Rudolf as the Fourth Official.

As announced previously, Canada Soccer has secured permission from The IFAB to implement the revised Laws of the Game for the start of the 2019 Canada Soccer Canadian Championship and the 2019 Canadian Premier League.

Ahead of the kickoff of the league, Canada Soccer’s referee department spent time with each of the Canadian Premier League clubs to prepare them for the upcoming season and the interpretation of the new IFAB Laws.

Canada Soccer is responsible for the development and training of match officials for amateur and professional competitions in Canada. In partnership with our Provincial and Territorial Associations and sanctioned professional leagues, Canada Soccer provides development and training opportunities to advance to the national list of referees and nominations to the FIFA list.