Luis Medina Cantalejo Spanish football referee Date of Birth: 01.06.1964 Country: Spain

Biography of Luis Medina Cantalejo

Luis Medina Cantalejo is a Spanish football referee who is considered one of the best referees in Europe. He was born and currently resides in Tomares, a city near Seville, Spain. Luis comes from a family of referees, with his father and grandfather also having officiated matches in La Liga.

Luis began his career as a professional referee in 1995, and in 1998 he made his debut in La Liga officiating a match between Real Sociedad and Oviedo. By 2002, Luis was included in the list of top referees in the league and started officiating important matches, including those between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Since then, he has been recognized as one of the leading referees in Spain.

Throughout his career, Luis Medina Cantalejo has officiated matches in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, and international matches involving national teams since 2004. However, he did not officiate in the final stage of Euro 2008. Notably, in the round of 16 match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Italy and Australia, he awarded a controversial penalty in the fifth added minute, which Francesco Totti converted to secure Italy's victory.

Luis is also well-known among Russian football fans for officiating the Euro 2008 qualifying match between Russia and England, which ended in a 2-1 victory for Russia. He has also officiated several matches involving Russian clubs in European competitions. On May 20, 2009, Luis Medina Cantalejo officiated his last UEFA Cup final.

Throughout his career, Luis has shown no hesitation in showing red and yellow cards to players. Notable players who received red cards from him include David Beckham, Luis Figo, and Marco Materazzi. Additionally, he was involved in a notable incident during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final between France and Italy, where he served as the fourth official. The main referee initially missed Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi, but Luis alerted him to the incident. Later, there were accusations that Luis only noticed the incident after viewing video replays (the use of video replays by referees in football is officially prohibited).

Interesting Facts:
- Luis originally intended to become a football player but temporarily switched to refereeing on his father's advice during his third year of studying to avoid academic difficulties.
- In 2005, he officiated a match between CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Russian Premier League.
- Luis Medina Cantalejo has been considered a "lucky charm" for Russian teams, as they have won all matches officiated by him, including both club and national team matches.