David Socha
| Full name | David Stanley Socha | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
September 27, 1938 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Died |
February 10, 2025 (aged 86) Ludlow, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1979–1986 | FIFA-listed | Referee | |
David Stanley Socha (September 27, 1938 – February 10, 2025) was an American soccer referee. He is best known for supervising two matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in 1982[1] and one in 1986.[2] The 1982 match between Scotland and New Zealand marked the second ever World Cup match supervised by an American referee after Henry Landauer in 1970. Socha played in the semiprofessional leagues of the United States[3] and two seasons for Portsmouth in the 1950s.[4]
Socha is known to have served as a FIFA referee during the period from 1979[5] to 1986.[2] His other international events include the 1984 Olympic tournament[6] in Los Angeles and qualifying matches for the 1982[7] and 1986[8] World Cups. During his career working matches in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1984,[9] Socha was the head referee for Soccer Bowl '82, and for game 1 of Soccer Bowl '84.[10][11] He was also an assistant referee at Soccer Bowl '78.[12]
Socha died at age 86 at his home in Ludlow, Massachusetts, on February 10, 2025.[9][13]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ FIFA. "Match Report - Scotland - New Zealand 5:2 (3:0)" Archived June 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. June 15, 1982. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b FIFA. "Match Report - Korea Republic - Italy 2:3 (0:1)" Archived July 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. June 10, 1986. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Reyes Padilla, Macario. "Mexico - International Results Details 1970-1979". RSSSF, September 18, 2008. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ FIFA. "Match Report - Cameroon - Iraq 1:0 (1:0)". August 1, 1984. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ "Honduras v Mexico, 22 November 1981". November 22, 1981. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ "El Salvador v Honduras, 10 March 1985". March 10, 1985. Retrieved on June 5, 2013.
- ^ a b David S. Socha 1938–2025 (obituary) – Legacy.com. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ TVS Broadcast footage
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- 1938 births
- 2025 deaths
- American soccer referees
- 1986 FIFA World Cup referees
- 1982 FIFA World Cup referees
- Olympic football referees
- Sportspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts
- Soccer players from Massachusetts
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- American men's soccer players
- American expatriate men's soccer players
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- Sports official biography stubs
- American soccer biography stubs