Pema Tshewang

Pema Tshewang is a Bhutanese football referee, who has been FIFA-listed since 2014.

Career Tshewang graduated from Higher Secondary School in his native Punakha in 2008 and began an amateur referee career as a part-time job in 2011, while studying physical education in Paro. In 2017, he graduated with a diploma in P.E. and sports coaching from the Paro College of Education. He later began coaching the sports teams of the Sports Federation from different faculties of the Royal University of Bhutan, and has helped in the organization of the university's winter and summer games for students. He has also officiated friendly matches for the FIFA Series qualification, including a game between Seychelles and Bangladesh at the Sylhet District Stadium in March 2023, which ended in the crowning of the Seychelles by a 1–0 result, following a penalty kick given by Tshewang to the Seychelles after a foul by Md Saad Uddin on Daryl Bertrand, which was then scored by player Michael Mancienne.

Tshewang has also been active in the SAFF Championship, which is a primary competition for men's national teams from the South Asian Football Federation. He was appointed for the 2023 edition held in India, where he refereed two group stage matches: Pakistan vs. Kuwait (0–4), and the 1–0 victory of Lebanon over the Maldives. Also in 2023, Tshewang took part in Nepal's organization of the SAFF U-19 Championship, where he led a game between the locals and the Maldives (4–1) in Kathmandu. During the heated match, Nepalese player Sujan Dangol provoked Maldivian player Mohamed Iyaan Hassan, and ended up fighting each other and being sent off by Tshewang, who showed them both a red card. After the game finished, Maldivian player Afzal Mohamed (who had already been issued a yellow card), was shown a second yellow and a subsequent red card by Tshewang, after he angrily protested Tshewang's refereeing decisions. In the previous edition, Tshewang refereed a semifinal game between Pakistan U-17 and Bangladesh U-17, which was won by the Bengalis on penalties.

Selected performances Date Match Result Round Tournament 4 December 2019 – 1–1 Group stage South Asian Games 24 June 2023 – 0–4 Group stage 2023 SAFF Championship 28 June 2023 – 1–0 Group stage 2023 SAFF Championship 25 September 2023 – 4–1 Group stage 2023 SAFF U-19 Championship 28 September 2024 – 2–2 Semifinals 2024 SAFF U-17 Championship 27 September 2025 – 2–2 Final 2025 SAFF U-17 Championship