 | |||
| Full name | Horacio Marcelo Elizondo | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1963-11-04)4 November 1963 (age 61) Argentina | ||
| Other occupation | Physical education teacher | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1992–2006 | Argentine Primera División | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1994–2006 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (born November 4, 1963) is an Argentine former internationalfootballreferee best known for his officiation throughout the2006 FIFA World Cup. Having achieved all his goals in refereeing,[1] Elizondo retired after the December 2006 match betweenBoca Juniors andLanús,[2] 2 years before the compulsory retirement age of 45.
Elizondo completed studies inphysical education, and started refereeing after finishing theAFA course. His debut in theArgentine first division was in theDeportivo Español vs.Belgrano de Córdoba match in 1992. He was namedinternational in 1994, and directed his first international match on October 9, 1996, betweenEcuador andColombia for the1998 World Cup qualifications.[3]
Among the several international competitions in which he participated are theCopa América of1997 and1999, the U-17 World Cup of 1997 and 2005, the U-20World Youth Championships of2003 and2005, theOlympic Games of2004, and theFIFA Club World Championship of2000.[4] In the latter, he showed a red card toDavid Beckham in the tie betweenManchester United andNecaxa.[5]
He also refereed in the final matches of the 2002 and 2005Copa Libertadores de América. In the2005 tournament the two Brazilian finalist teamsSão Paulo FC andAtlético Paranaense lobbiedConmebol to have Elizondo as the main referee.
On August 16, 2006, Elizondo refereed the second final of the2006 Copa Libertadores.[6]
Elizondo broke theArgentine First Division record showing 12 yellow cards on August 19 in the match betweenBoca Juniors andIndependiente. The media, though, supported most of his decisions.[7]
In the annual world referee ranking of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Elizondo was positioned 5th in 2001,[8] 12th in 2005[9] and 1st in 2006.[10]
Elizondo was appointed to represent Argentina in the2006 FIFA World Cup, together with fellowassistants Darío García and Rodolfo Otero.[11] He officiated three group games:Germany vs Costa Rica,Czech Republic vs Ghana, andSwitzerland vs South Korea. He also took charge of theEngland vs Portugal quarterfinal, as well as thefinal game between Italy and France, becoming the first referee in World Cup history to referee both the opening and final games of one World Cup, a feat later matched by compatriotNéstor Pitana in the2018 edition (English refereeGeorge Reader also officiated the first and last matches of the1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but the last one, known asMaracanazo, was not technically a final). Elizondo handed out a total of 29 cards in the tournament, three of which were red, for an average of 5.8 cards per game.
Elizondo took charge of the opening game of the tournament betweenGermany and Costa Rica, which Germany won 4–2. Elizondo handed out oneyellow card to Costa Rica’sDanny Fonseca. The match had a total of 22 fouls and 6 offsides, both statistics split evenly between the two teams.[12] FIFA's president of the World cup organizing committeeLennart Johansson praised Elizondo performance at the match, saying "I did not notice him much which is a very good thing."[13]
In his following match in the group stage, whichGhana won 2-0 against Czech Republic, he gave a straightred card to Czech playerTomáš Ujfaluši for aprofessional foul in the box, awarding a penalty to Ghana. He then gave a yellow card toAsamoah Gyan when he took the penalty kick prematurely. Gyan missed his second attempt. Elizondo also booked Czech playerVratislav Lokvenc and Ghanaian playersOtto Addo,Michael Essien,Derek Boateng andSulley Muntari, for a total of seven cards. He called 12 fouls against the Czech Republic and 20 against Ghana. He further ruled the Czechs offside 6 times and Ghanaians 9 times.[14]
Elizondo was also the referee in theSwitzerland 2-0 South Korea group game. Elizondo handed out nine yellow cards during the match, booking five Swiss players,Philippe Senderos,Hakan Yakın,Raphael Wicky,Christoph Spycher andJohan Djourou and four KoreansPark Chu-Young,Kim Jin-Kyu,Choi Jin-Cheul andLee Chun-Soo. Elizondo called 7 fouls against Switzerland and 19 against South Korea. There were a total of six offsides calls, split evenly between the two teams.[15]
He awarded the Swiss a goal when he overruled theassistant referee Rodolfo Otero's raisedoffside flag. Several players, including two defenders,Kim Jin-Kyu andChoi Jin-Cheul, who were followingAlexander Frei stopped playing when they saw the flag. The ball was put into the path of Alexander Frei after being hit byLee Ho's foot.[16] Korea's coachDick Advocaat was livid at the time, but a few days later agreed that the decision to allow the goal was correct.[17]
Elizondo was the referee in theEngland 0-0 Portugal quarter-final, which Portugal won 3–1 on penalties. Elizondo gave yellow cards toRicardo Carvalho andPetit of Portugal and toOwen Hargreaves andJohn Terry of England, as well as a straight red card to England'sWayne Rooney after he stood onRicardo Carvalho's groin,[18] for a total of 5 cards. Elizondo called 18 fouls on England and 10 on Portugal, found Portugal offsides 3 times and England none.[19]
Elizondo was the referee forthe final of the tournament in Berlin'sOlympiastadion on July 9, betweenFrance andItaly.[20] He awarded France a penalty afterFlorent Malouda went down in the box under contact fromMarco Materazzi.[21] Elizondo gaveZinedine Zidane a red card after heheadbutted in the chestMarco Materazzi in the 111th minute after consulting fourth officialLuis Medina Cantalejo via headset.[22][23]
| Event | Games |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Copa Libertadores | 6 | 31 | 2 | 2 |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) | 9 | 28 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup | 5 | 26 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 20 | 85 | 2 | 6 |
Sporting positions Horacio Elizondo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 2006 FIFA World Cup Final Referee | Succeeded by |
