Néstor Pitana

Néstor Fabián Pitana (; born 17 June 1975) is an Argentine former football referee. He refereed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2015 Copa América, 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2021 Copa America. Pitana was selected to oversee the 2018 FIFA World Cup final between France and Croatia. He became the second referee to take charge of the opening game and a final in the same tournament, after fellow Argentinian Horacio Elizondo.

Select matches

2018 World Cup final

Pitana's performance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final has seen significant controversy, mostly related to the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. 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 forbade VAR intervention). 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. After a lengthy deliberation, Pitana awarded the penalty to France, which many pundits called an incorrect interpretation of the rules.

2021 Copa America

Pitana's decisions during the 2021 Copa America game between Brazil and Colombia faced significant controversy. 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.

Record 2014 FIFA World Cup – Brazil Date Match Venue Round 17 June 2014 – Cuiabá Group stage 22 June 2014 – Manaus Group stage 25 June 2014 – Manaus Group stage 4 July 2014 – Rio de Janeiro Quarter-final 2018 FIFA World Cup – Russia Date Match Venue Round 14 June 2018 – Moscow Group stage 27 June 2018 – Ekaterinburg Group stage 1 July 2018 – Nizhny Novgorod Round of 16 6 July 2018 – Nizhny Novgorod Quarter-final 15 July 2018 – Moscow Final

Statistics Source: worldfootball.net