This is a list of sports officials who died while active. This list is organized alphabetically by the sport the individual officiated in, and notes the deaths in chronological order within each sport. Also noted are age, leagues/associations or events they were part of when they died, officiating position (if applicable), cause of death, and date of death. Some deaths occurred due to an in-game injury or medical emergency, but most were the result of injuries and illnesses sustained elsewhere. There are also deaths that occurred due to violence directed towards officials. Abuse of officials, whether it be physical violence or verbal threats, has been of increasing concern in many sports.
Although this list primarily consists of professional sports officials, amateur sports officials may be included if their deaths are related to games they worked, or were scheduled to do so. Officials who worked in notable high level amateur sports (such as NCAA Division I college sports and Major Junior ice hockey), and officials who worked world championship or Olympic/Paralympic events shortly before their deaths are treated as professional. This list does not include officiating supervisors or officials who retired shortly before their deaths, unless they were working a game at the time.
The following are association football/soccer referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are track and field officials who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are Australian football umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are baseball umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are softball umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are basketball referees that died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are boxing referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are cricket umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are gridiron football officials (including Canadian rules officials and those of other football variations) who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are ice hockey officials who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are officials including motorsport marshals who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are rugby league match officials/referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are rugby union match officials/referees who died during their careers or officiating assignments.
The following are tennis umpires who died during their careers or officiating assignments.