Néstor Pitana

Néstor Fabián Pitana (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnestoɾ piˈtana]; born 17 June 1975) is an Argentine former football referee who refereed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2015 Copa América and 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[1] He oversaw the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup between Russia and Saudi Arabia.^[2] Pitana was appointed to take charge of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia at Moscow on 15 July 2018. He became the second referee to take charge of the opening game and the Final in the same tournament (after fellow Argentinian Horacio Elizondo, who did the same in 2006).^[3]

Néstor Pitana

Pitana at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Full name	Néstor Fabián Pitana
Born	(1975-06-17) 17 June 1975 (age 49) Corpus, Argentina
Domestic
Years	League	Role
	Argentine Primera División	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2010–2022	FIFA listed	Referee

Controversies

2018 World Cup final

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup Final § Pre-match

Pitana's performance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final has seen some controversy, mostly related to the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.^[4][5] France's first goal was scored from a free kick that was seen by many as a dive from Antoine Griezmann (the rules at the time related to VAR forbade intervention in the case, however).^[4][6] France's second goal was scored from a penalty given after Pitana was informed by VAR that he may wish to review the recording of Ivan Perišić's handball.^[7][8] After a lengthy deliberation, Pitana awarded the penalty to France, which many pundits called an incorrect interpretation of the rules.^{[9][10][11][12]}

2021 Copa America

"And not for the first time in his career," Pitana's decisions during the 24 June 2021 Copa America game between Brazil and Colombia were also a source of intense controversy. At the 78th minute, Pitana continued the game on a ball that had hit his legs, which according to International Football Association Board rules, should have led to a stop of play. As the Colombian players stood still expecting play to be paused, Brazil scored, tying the match and eventually contributing to Brazil's 2-1 victory.^[13][14]

Record

2014 FIFA World Cup – Brazil
Date	Match	Venue	Round
17 June 2014	Russia –  South Korea	Cuiabá	Group stage
22 June 2014	United States –  Portugal	Manaus	Group stage
25 June 2014	Honduras –   Switzerland	Manaus	Group stage
4 July 2014	France –  Germany	Rio de Janeiro	Quarter-final
2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia
Date	Match	Venue	Round
14 June 2018	Russia –  Saudi Arabia	Moscow	Group stage
27 June 2018	Mexico –  Sweden	Ekaterinburg	Group stage
1 July 2018	Croatia –  Denmark	Nizhny Novgorod	Round of 16
6 July 2018	Uruguay –  France	Nizhny Novgorod	Quarter-final
15 July 2018	France –  Croatia	Moscow	Final

Statistics

Tournaments	Constester	Years	Matches		Average		Average
Primera División de Argentina	AFA–SAF	2007–	269	1275	4.74	89	0.33
Primera B Nacional	AFA	2006–2017	61	278	4.55	14	0.23
Copa Argentina	AFA	2011–	4	19	4.75	1	0.25
Supercopa Argentina	AFA	2014	1	4	4.00	0	0.00
Relegation	AFA	2009–2012	4	27	6.75	0	0.00
Copa América	Conmebol	2015	2	8	4.00	1	0.50
Copa Conmebol Libertadores	Conmebol	2010–	34	158	4.64	7	0.21
Copa Conmebol Sudamericana	Conmebol	2010–	16	79	4.94	7	0.44
Recopa Conmebol Sudamericana	Conmebol	2012; 2015	2	11	5.50	2	1.00
South American Under-17 Football Championship	Conmebol	2011	3	11	3.67	0	0.00
FIFA World Cup	FIFA	2014; 2018	9	23	2.56	0	0.00
FIFA Confederations Cup	FIFA	2017	2	5	2.50	0	0.00
FIFA World Cup qualification CONMEBOL	FIFA	2011–	10	52	5.20	3	0.33
FIFA World Cup Intercontinental play-offs	FIFA	2017	1	7	7.00	0	0.00
Friendlies	FIFA	2011–2012	2	11	5.50	0	0.00
2016 Río de Janeiro	IOC–FIFA	2016	2	5	2.50	0	0.00
Totals		2006–	422	1973	4.67	124	0.29
Matches as referee are correct as of 13 August 2018

Source: worldfootball.net^[15]

References

1. Profile on worldreferee.com.
2. "Nestor Pitana to referee the Opening Match of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia". FIFA.com. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
3. "Nestor Pitana to referee World Cup Final". FIFA.com. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
4. Menzas, Jack (15 July 2018). "World Cup final referee in VAR penalty controversy". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
5. Hackett, Keith (15 July 2018). "Decisions in the World Cup final showed, again, VAR's fatal flaw: the on-field referee making the final decision". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
6. Homewood, Brian (15 July 2018). "Pitana's path from film extra to World Cup final referee". Reuters. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
7. "FIFA must rethink the handball rule: Osvaldo Ardiles - Times of India". The Times of India. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
8. Soidri, Abdallah (15 July 2018). "L'arbitre de la finale de la Coupe du Monde raconte sa décision de siffler pénalty pour les Bleus". Football Stories (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2018.
9. Clattenburg, Mark (15 July 2018). "Mark Clattenburg: World Cup final referee got penalty call wrong". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
10. "World Cup 2018: Nestor Pitana's worst day... which saw him suspended". MARCA in English. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
11. Wahl, Grant (15 July 2018). "France wins World Cup–with an assist from VAR". SI.com. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
12. "Former refs disagree on France penalty". The New Paper. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
13. "Referee controversy overshadows Brazil's Copa América win over Colombia". CNN. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
14. "Copa America 2021: Colombia protest as Brazil eke out win". The National. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
15. "Néstor Pitana: matches as referee". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

External links

Media related to Néstor Pitana at Wikimedia Commons

Sporting positions Néstor Pitana
Preceded by 2014 FIFA World Cup Final Nicola Rizzoli	2018 FIFA World Cup Final Referee	Succeeded by 2022 FIFA World Cup Final Szymon Marciniak