Antonio Jesús López Nieto (born 25 January 1958 in Málaga, Andalusia) is a former Spanish football referee, who officiated at one FIFA World Cup and during the UEFA Champions League.
| Full name | Antonio Jesús López Nieto | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
25 January 1958 Málaga, Spain | ||
| Other occupation | Architect | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1988-2003 | La Liga | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1993-2003 | FIFA-listed | Referee | |
In 1995, López accused representatives of Dynamo Kyiv of attempting to bribe him before a UEFA Champions League game against Panathinaikos of Greece, a charge Dynamo Kyiv continue to deny. As a result of this accusation, UEFA banned Dynamo from competitions for two years,[1] a sanction that was later overturned.
He has refereed in three UEFA Cup finals, in 1995 (first leg), 1998 and 2000. López set a record at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, issuing 14 yellow cards and 2 red cards in a match between Germany and Cameroon.[2] This record was then broken in the 2006 tournament by Valentin Ivanov during the match between Portugal and Netherlands, who issued 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards.
References
edit- ^ "Dynamo Kiev Banned from European Play". The New York Times. AP. 21 September 1995. Retrieved 19 June 2006.
- ^ "Germany overcome Cameroon". BBC. 11 June 2002. Retrieved 19 June 2006.
External links
edit- 2002 FIFA World Cup profile[permanent dead link] (archive)
- Antonio López Nieto at WorldReferee.com
- Antonio López Nieto referee profile at EU-Football.info
- Antonio López Nieto referee profile at WorldFootball.net
- Antonio López Nieto referee profile at Soccerway
- Antonio López Nieto refereeing career statistics at Soccerbase
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