Chris Beath

Chris James Beath (born 17 November 1984) is an Australian former football referee in the A-League.

Refereeing career He has refereed at the National Youth Championships in 2003 and in 2004.

Beath was added to the FIFA International Referees List in 2011, serving as a referee for matches including the Kirin Challenge Cup contest between Japan and Iceland.

In 2015, Beath was involved in an exchange program where he refereed in the J-League.

On 4 April 2017, Chris Beath was appointed as one of the inaugural video assistant referees (VARs) in the Hyundai A-League, the first top-tier football league in the world to implement the technology.

In January 2018, Beath was selected as one of the referees for the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship held in China. Beath refereed the opening fixture of this tournament.

On 5 December 2018, Beath was appointed to be a referee at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

In August 2021, after the matches Mexico - France (4–1) and the quarter final Brazil - Egypt (1–0), Beath was appointed to the Brazil vs Spain 2-1 after extra time Gold Medal Match at the COVID delayed 2020 Summer Olympics.

Beath was also appointed to officiate in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. He refereed Al Ahly SC victory 1–0 over C. F. Monterrey and also officiated the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup Final between Chelsea F.C. and Palmeiras.

In 2022, Beath was appointed to the 2022 AFC Cup Final as VAR.

Beath was selected to officiate at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, officiating the Group C match between Mexico and Poland.

Beath announced his retirement from refereeing on 1 June 2023, shortly after being appointed as the referee for the 2023 A-League Men Grand Final, which was his final game as a referee. He holds the record for matches officiated in the A-League, taking charge of 234 games in total.

A-League Career Matches:

Record 2019 AFC Asian Cup – United Arab Emirates Date Match Venue Round 10 January 2019 0–1 Dubai Group stage 17 January 2019 4–1 Sharjah Group stage 28 January 2019 0–3 Al Ain Semi-final

2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar Date Match Venue Round 22 November 2022 0–0 Doha Group stage