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Shawn Hochuli is fully embracing the NFL’s international efforts. While officiating a game between the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany on Sunday, the veteran referee surprised everyone when he started calling penalties in the country’s native language.

The crowd — along with broadcasters Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner — went wild as he announced a false start (“ein Fehlstart”) on Carolina.

“Look at Shawn Hochuli, hooked on phonics!” they quipped.

Shawn’s call was a cool nod to his father, Ed Hochuli, a legendary NFL referee who retired in 2018 after 28 seasons. Ed officiated the NFL’s first game in Mexico in 2005, and he called the first penalty in Spanish.

Sunday’s match-up between the Panthers and Giants is just the latest of the NFL’s efforts to expand the game on the international stage.

Just before kickoff, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on NFL GameDay Kickoff that the league is looking to play upwards of eight games outside the United States in 2025, including in Ireland.

“We are definitely going to Spain, we announced that,” Goodell said. “We expect to return to Mexico City. We expect to return to Brazil. We will certainly be back in the U.K. And we’re also looking at the potential of another game in the U.K. area in Ireland, possibly. That’s a possibility. And we’ll certainly be back here in Germany. So if that total’s eight, that’s what we’re shooting for.”

The NFL has been playing regular season games in the United Kingdom since 2007. Ahead of the 2024 season, the NFL has played 36 regular season games in London, four in Mexico City and three across Germany, according to the NFL’s Football Operations. In Week 1 this season, the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles also played a game in São Paulo, Brazil.

Surely, Shawn Hochuli will spend the off-season brushing up on his Spanish and Portuguese.