Wilton Pereira Sampaio (born 28 December 1981) is a Brazilian football referee. He has been on FIFA's list of international referees since 2013. His younger brother Sávio Pereira Sampaio is also a referee and on FIFA's list since 2022.
Professional Sampaio began refereeing at age 15, qualified in Brasília in 2000 and currently represents the Federação Goiana de Futebol and FIFA. He was elected as one of the best referees in the 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championships.
Sampaio was considered too short by Brazilian referee head, Armando Marques, but after Marques left in 2005, Sampaio was given more high profile games.
Sampaio was part of the video assistant referee (VAR) team when it was introduced in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He also refereed in both the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In June 2026, Sampaio was selected by FIFA as the referee of the inaugural match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City between Mexico and South Africa. He sent off a total of three players during the match, the most in a World Cup opening game.
Selected performances 2022 FIFA World CupDateMatchVenueRound Attendance21 November 2022Senegal vs NetherlandsAl Thumama Stadium, DohaGroup stage41,72126 November 2022Poland vs Saudi ArabiaEducation City Stadium, Al KhorGroup stage44,2593 December 2022Netherlands vs United StatesKhalifa International Stadium, Al RayyanRound of 1644,84610 December 2022England vs FranceAl Bayt Stadium, Al KhorQuarter-finals68,8952026 FIFA World Cup11 June 2026Mexico vs South AfricaEstadio Azteca, Mexico CityGroup stage80,82423 June 2026Norway vs SenegalMetLife Stadium, East RutherfordGroup stage80,66329 June 2026Netherlands vs MoroccoEstadio BBVA, GuadelupeRound of 3251,243
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