Zachari Zeegelaar

Zachari Zeegelaar
Born (1989-10-03) 3 October 1989
Paramaribo, Suriname
Domestic
Years League Role
2013–present Suriname Major League Assistant referee
International
Years League Role
2013–present FIFA listed Assistant referee

Zachari Zeegelaar (born 3 October 1989[1]) is a Surinamese football assistant referee and former professional player who has been on the FIFA International Referees List since 2014. Zeegelaar has taken part in the Summer Olympics and a FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Zeegelaar was born at Diakonessenhuis in Paramaribo to Carmen Sordjo and Orlando Zeegelaar, both deceased.[1][2] He spent much of his childhood in Zanderij and was raised, along with his two sisters, Raquel and Chawila, by his mother alone, which he is proud of. Raquel has played for the club S.V. Transvaal and the Suriname women's national football team.[1]

Career

Zeegelaar was part of the Transvaal team, playing for a club in Lelydorp,[1][3] but his mother forced him to stop when he was 16 because he had poor grades at school.[3] At the age of 21, he moved back to Paramaribo to play football.[3] After he was shown a red card during a match, he spoke to the referee, who said that Zeegelaar understood the rules and should take a refereeing course. He enrolled in a Surinamese Football Association referee course when he was 23.[1] After earning his FIFA badge as an assistant referee in 2014, Zeegelaar officiated in the Suriname President's Cup and the US tournament Dallas Cup.[1] He worked with pitch referee Enrico Wijngaarde,[1] one of the most internationally recognized referees from Suriname.[4] Zeegelar has taken part in four editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, including the tournament of 2025.[5][6][7][8][9]

In 2022, Zeegelaar was appointed as an assistant referee for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar,[3][10] officiating two group stage matches under lead referee Iván Barton of El Salvador: Germany vs Japan for Group E and Brazil vs Switzerland for Group G.[2][11][12][13] He served in two matches in 2020 to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo for the men's football tournament.[2][14]

Selected performances

2020 Sumer Olympics – Men's tournament – Tokyo
Date Match Result Round Venue Source
22 July 2021  Brazil –  Germany 4–2 Group stage Nissan Stadium, Yokohama [14]
28 July 2021  France –  Japan 0–4 Group stage Nissan Stadium, Yokohama [15]
2022 FIFA World Cup – Qatar
23 November 2022  Germany –  Japan 1–2 Group stage Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan [16]
28 November 2022  Brazil –   Switzerland 1–0 Group stage Stadium 974, Doha [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tijd, De Ware. "Zachari Zeegelaar had er nooit aan gedacht om de arbiterswereld in te gaan". Suriname Nieuws - gratis app (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Wie is Zachari Zeegelaar? De assist-scheidsrechter uit Suriname op het WK 2022!". Voetbalflitsen.nl - het leukste en opvallendste voetbalnieuws! (in Dutch). 23 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Parbode, Redactie (12 March 2025). "FIFA-lijnrechter Zachari Zeegelaar vlagt op WK 2022 - Parbode Sneak Peek". Parbode (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Harmsel, Jan ter (16 January 2013). "Enrico Wijngaarde: top referee in the Caribean". Dutch Referee Blog. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Butler, Dylan (27 June 2019). "Mexico vs. Costa Rica | 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Preview". mlssoccer. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Nicholson, Paul (6 July 2021). "Concacaf names female refs to Gold Cup officiating teams as VAR debuts". Inside World Football. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Simon, Nigel (12 June 2023). "Wales gets nod for CONCACAF Gold Cup duties". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Mexico vs Saudi Arabia: Concacaf Gold Cup stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Jamaica vs Guadeloupe: Concacaf Gold Cup stats & head-to-head". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Mackey, Ed (17 December 2022). "Refereeing at the World Cup explained: Match officials, VAR, offside technology and more". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 "World Cup (Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Allen, William (28 November 2022). "Who is the referee for Brazil vs Switzerland on World Cup 2022 Group G matchday two?". AS USA. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Zeegelaar assistent-arbiter bij Brazilië-Zwitserland". Suriname Herald (in Dutch). 26 November 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Brasil toma susto, mas vence Alemanha na estreia com três de Richarlison". www.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Fédération Française de Football". www.fff.fr (in French). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Hall, Andy (23 November 2022). "Who is the referee for Germany vs Japan in the World Cup 2022 first group game?". AS USA. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
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