NEW YORK (March 26, 2024) – Earlier today, the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) and Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) finalized a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement, covering the next seven years from 2024 through 2030, represents the longest CBA for match officials in Major League Soccer history. The match officials represented by PSRA will return to officiate MLS games beginning March 30.

MLS Executive Vice President of Sporting Product & Competition Nelson Rodríguez issued the following statement regarding the new CBA:

“Major League Soccer has some of the best match officials in the world, and PRO’s new CBA with PSRA recognizes that by committing substantial resources to the referee program -- an investment that ranks among the highest for any global soccer league. We’re pleased this agreement provides PRO with a strong, long-term partnership to continue to develop and train the referees to make our officiating even better. 

“We thank PRO and the match officials who’ve worked selflessly since the start of the 2024 MLS season. Many of these officials were already advancing toward becoming PRO match officials, and their participation provided important on-field experience, which will continue to benefit PRO, MLS and all the other leagues in the future.

“We look forward to having the PRO match officials return this weekend, and we thank MLS players, coaches and clubs for their professionalism, and our fans for their support throughout the opening month of the season.”