István Kovács (referee)

István Kovács
	Kovács in 2020
Born	16 September 1984 (age 40); Carei, Romania
Other occupation	PE teacher
Domestic
Years	League
2007–	Liga I
International
Years	League
2010–	FIFA listed
2019–	UEFA Elite
2021–	FIFA listed

István Kovács (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈiʃtvaːn ˈkovaːt͡ʃ]; born 16 September 1984) is a Romanian football referee who primarily officiates in the Liga I. He has been a full international for FIFA since 2018, and a UEFA elite referee since 2019.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Career

Kovács was one of two Romanian referees selected to officiate in UEFA Euro 2020, the other being Ovidiu Hațegan. He was in charge of one group stage game, the Group D fixture between the Netherlands and North Macedonia on 21 June 2021 in Amsterdam, which ended in a 3-0 victory for the Dutch.^[5]^[6]

On 26 April 2022 he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid in Manchester, which City won 4-3. Because of the good performance, Kovács was praised by the media, especially for the advantage he allowed in the build-up to Bernardo Silva's goal. As a reward for his good performance, the UEFA Referees Committee chose him to officiate the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final between A.S. Roma and Feyenoord, the first ever final of the competition. Roma won the final in Albania 1-0 and became the first title holders of the UEFA Europa Conference League.^[7] ^[8]^[9]^[10]

The same year, István Kovács was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, along with his compatriot assistant referees Vasile Marinescu and Mihai Artene. He wasn't ultimately picked as overall referee for any match, but he was the fourth official in eight fixtures.^[11]^[12]

On 19 January 2023 he refereed the final of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup between Iraq and Oman. That same month, he was one of six match officials appointed for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. On 7 February he oversaw the semi-final between Brazilian side Flamengo and Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, which Al Hilal won 3-2.^[13]^[14]^[15]

In June 2023, Kovács was appointed as the fourth official for the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan, which City won 1-0.^[16]

In May 2024, he was selected by UEFA to referee the UEFA Europa League Final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, on 22 May in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Atalanta won the match 3-0, breaking Leverkusen's record-break winning streak. ^[17] As expected, he was picked for UEFA Euro 2024, where he officiated two group stage fixtures–Slovenia vs. Serbia on 20 June, and Czech Republic vs. Turkey on 26 June. In the latter game, Kovács broke the European Championship record for the most cautions between both teams in a single match, handing out sixteen yellow cards and two reds. By sending off Czech midfielder Antonín Barák for a second bookable offence only 20 minutes into the match, he also broke the record for the fastest red card in the history of the European Championship. Czech striker Tomáš Chorý was shown a direct red card during a melée between the two teams after the end of the match.^[18]

Personal life

Kovács is part of the Hungarian minority in Romania, and is also part-German through his maternal side. He holds both a Romanian and a Hungarian passport. His younger brother, Szabolcs, is also a referee in the Romanian Liga I.^[19]^[20]

He was born in Carei, Satu Mare County, and currently resides in Cluj-Napoca. In recognition of his refereeing career, he became a Honorary Citizen of Carei in 2023.^[21]

References

^ "2023 Refereeing International Lists" (PDF). FIFA Digital Assets Hub. FIFA. January 2023. p. 161. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
^ "Istvan Kovacs, promovare în Elite Class" [Istvan Kovacs, promotion to Elite Class]. Romanian Football Federation (in Romanian). 14 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
^ "GNK Dinamo Zagreb – Chelsea FC Match press kit" (PDF). UEFA.com. UEFA. 5 September 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
^ Crăiţoiu, Andrei; Manolache, Liviu (6 December 2021). "Istvan Kovacs intră în istoria arbitrajului din România! Doar 3 "centrali" au mai bifat această performanță importantă" [Istvan Kovacs enters Romanian refereeing history! Only 3 "central" referees have ever achieved this important performance]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Serban, Teodor (21 April 2021). "Doi romani alesi de UEFA sa arbitreze meciuri la EURO. Cine sunt acestia" [Two Romanians chosen by UEFA to referee matches at the EURO. Who they are]. Ziare.com (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ "Referee teams for UEFA EURO 2020 appointed". UEFA.com. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ "Heady times for Tirana final referee Kovacs". UEFA.com. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ "Istvan Kovacs appointed referee for Conference League final between Roma and Feyenoord". RomaPress. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Brus, Mark (27 April 2022). ""Fantastic" decision to give advantage for Man City goal against Real Madrid, says Mark Halsey". CaughtOffside. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
^ Hytner, David (26 April 2022). "Manchester City edge Real Madrid in 4-3 thriller but Benzema keeps tie alive". The Guardian. Manchester. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
^ "De ce Istvan Kovacs nu a arbitrat la CM 2022 și a fost de 8 ori rezervă: "I-au zis să stea pe margine pentru că e prea bun"" [Why Istvan Kovacs did not referee at World Cup 2022 and was a reserve 8 times: "They told him to stay on the sidelines because he is too good"]. Digi Sport (in Romanian). 16 December 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ "List of appointed FIFA Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA Digital Assets Hub. FIFA. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Reidy, Paul (21 January 2023). "Referees named ahead of FIFA Club World Cup". Diario AS. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
^ Salem, Amr (18 January 2023). "Iraq, Oman get ready for 25th Gulf Cup final". Iraqi News. Baghdad. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Osornio, Alan (7 February 2023). "Flamengo y Al Hilal protagonizan un polémico cierre de primer tiempo: ¡VAR, penalti y expulsión!" [Flamengo and Al Hilal star in a controversial closing of the first half: VAR, penalty and sending off!]. Marca Claro México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^ "Referee teams appointed for 2023 UEFA club competition finals". UEFA. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^ "Referee teams for 2024 UEFA club competition finals announced". UEFA. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
^ "Czech Republic 1 Turkey 2: Most cards in Euros history, Montella's entertainers qualify, Czechs out". The New York Times. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
^ Nazare, Daniel; Toma, Răzvan (22 December 2020). "Szabolcs, fratele lui Istvan Kovacs, a debutat ca arbitru de centru în Liga 1. Au mai existat astfel de cazuri în fotbalul românesc?" [Szabolcs, Istvan Kovacs' brother, made his debut as a central referee in Liga 1. Have there been such cases in Romanian football?]. Prosport (in Romanian). Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^ Somogyi, Zsolt (13 January 2020). "Kovács István: Semmiféle hátrányom nem származott a származásomból" [István Kovács: I had no disadvantages because of my origin]. Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). Retrieved 25 February 2023. Anyai ágon sváb a családunk, apai ágon magyar, így kétezertizenegyben kettős állampolgár lettem, és erre nagyon büszke vagyok. [My family is Swabian on my mother's side and Hungarian on my father's side, so I became a dual citizen in 2011, and I'm very proud of that.]
^ "Istvan Kovacs, Cetățean de Onoare al Careiului" [Istvan Kovacs, Honorary Citizen of Carei]. Romanian Football Federation (in Romanian). 26 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.

External links

István Kovács refereeing career statistics at Soccerbase
István Kovács referee profile at Soccerway
István Kovács referee profile at WorldFootball.net
István Kovács at WorldReferee.com

Sporting positions István Kovács
Preceded by 2023 Anthony Taylor	UEFA Europa League Final Referee 2024	Succeeded by 2025 to be determined
Preceded by No previous competition	UEFA Europa Conference League Final Referee 2022	Succeeded by 2023 Carlos del Cerro Grande