The Most Famous
REFEREES from Romania
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Romanian Referees of all time. This list of famous Romanian Referees is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Nicolae Rainea (1933 - 2015)
With an HPI of 50.98, Nicolae Rainea is the most famous Romanian Referee. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.
Nicolae Rainea (19 November 1933 – 1 April 2015), nicknamed The Locomotive of the Carpathians, was a Romanian football referee and player. Highly regarded throughout the world, he is considered one of the best whistles of his generation and, arguably, the finest Romanian referee of all time.
2. István Kovács (b. 1984)
With an HPI of 41.46, István Kovács is the 2nd most famous Romanian Referee. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
István Kovács (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈiʃtvaːn ˈkovaːt͡ʃ]; born 16 September 1984) is a Romanian football referee who officiates primarily in the Liga I. He has been a full international for FIFA since 2018 and a UEFA elite referee since 2019.
3. Ovidiu Hațegan (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 39.27, Ovidiu Hațegan is the 3rd most famous Romanian Referee. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Ovidiu Alin Hațegan (born 14 July 1980) is a Romanian professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Liga I and for FIFA as a FIFA international referee. He is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Romanian referees born between 1933 and 1984. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Romanian referees include István Kovács, and Ovidiu Hațegan. The most famous deceased Romanian referees include Nicolae Rainea. As of April 2024, 1 new Romanian referees have been added to Pantheon including István Kovács.
