REFEREES from Spain

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Referees of all time. This list of famous Spanish Referees is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Carlos Velasco Carballo (1971 - )

With an HPI of 41.08, Carlos Velasco Carballo is the most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾlos βeˈlasko kaɾˈβaʎo]; born 16 March 1971) is a retired Spanish professional football referee.

2. Manuel Mejuto González (1965 - )

With an HPI of 40.77, Manuel Mejuto González is the 2nd most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Manuel Enrique Mejuto González (born 16 April 1965) is a Spanish former football referee. He is best known for refereeing the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool and Milan. He also officiated two matches in the Euro 2004 in Portugal. In European club competition, he has refereed three UEFA Cup matches and thirty-seven UEFA Champions League matches in his career.

3. Luis Medina Cantalejo (1964 - )

With an HPI of 40.74, Luis Medina Cantalejo is the 3rd most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Luis Medina Cantalejo (born 1 March 1964) is a Spanish former football referee. He was one of the few officials allowed to officiate the domestic clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona. His first experience as an international referee came on 4 September 2004, between Turkey and Georgia, in a preliminary qualifier for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

4. Alberto Undiano Mallenco (1973 - )

With an HPI of 38.40, Alberto Undiano Mallenco is the 4th most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto wnˈdjano maˈʎeŋko]; born 6 October 1973) is a retired Spanish football referee. He was a full international referee for FIFA from 2004 to 2019. Undiano is also a part-time sociologist.

5. Carlos del Cerro Grande (1976 - )

With an HPI of 38.29, Carlos del Cerro Grande is the 5th most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Carlos del Cerro Grande (born 13 March 1976) is a Spanish former football referee. He has been an international referee since 2013, with his debut coming in an international match on 26 May 2013, between the under-19 teams of Scotland and Georgia. On 15 June 2021, Del Cerro refereed in a major international finals match for the first time when he officiated the group match of Euro 2020 between France and Germany. He faced criticism for not calling a foul against Germany in their penalty area. He took charge of the UEFA Europa Conference League final between Fiorentina and West Ham United on 7 June 2023.

6. Eduardo Iturralde González (1967 - )

With an HPI of 33.80, Eduardo Iturralde González is the 6th most famous Spanish Referee.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Eduardo Iturralde González (born 20 February 1967 in Arrankudiaga) is a retired Spanish football referee. He frequently served as a referee for European matches in the Europa League and Champions League. Iturralde notably refereed the El Clásico on three occasions, in 1999, 2005 and most recently in November 2010, in which he was praised by Barcelona for his performance. Iturralde González was the referee of the Republic of Ireland's 2–1 win over Armenia in the last Euro 2012 qualifying match. Early in the game, he sent off Armenian goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky for a handball, although video replays indicated that the ball hit his chest. Two days after the match, the Football Federation of Armenia officially filed a protest to UEFA over the goalkeeper's dismissal. On 23 March 2012 he announced his retirement from refereeing due to disagreements with the Spanish Technical Committee, although it was already time for him to retire at the end of the 2011–12 season. His last game was Real Betis vs Real Madrid (2–3) on 10 March 2012. He could not finish this game due to a muscle injury, being substituted by the fourth referee, Gorka Sagués Oscoz, during half time.