Mauricio Espinosa

Mauricio Espinosa Rodríguez (born 6 May 1972) was a Uruguayan football referee who participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He gained publicity during the Round of 16 match between Germany and England, when he ruled that England midfielder Frank Lampard's strike did not cross the goal line, although television coverage clearly indicated the opposite.

Personal Mauricio Espinosa was born on 6 May 1972 and lives in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo. He is also a science teacher, he speaks English and Spanish. Espinosa has been refereeing international matches since 2006. In the referees' dressing room during the half-time interval, Larrionda and Espinosa were shown the TV coverage of the incident. After noticing his mistake, Espinosa was said to have exclaimed "Oh my God!". The incident led to large-scale protests from players, coaches and officials alike, as well as increased demands for FIFA to introduce goal-line video technology in matches.

Espinosa and Larrionda were among referees dropped by FIFA after the Round of 16. They did not participate in any further matches in the 2010 World Cup.

2018 FIFA World Cup In March 2018, FIFA announced that he will officiate some matches at side of Andres Cunha and Nicolas Taran as assistant referee at 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 10 July 2018, He officiated the semifinal between France and Belgium.