Luis Medina Cantalejo, 57-year-old Andalusian referee, becomes the visible head of the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), instead of Carlos Velasco Carballo. Born in Tomanes (Seville) He was until now the head of the Andalusian referees. As a grandfather and father as referees, his vocation was late and he leaned out more to please his father than out of his own desire. His thing was to be a footballer and he worked as such. The test was positive and he ended up ‘falling in love’ as he himself admits to arbitration in regional football.
Some of the passages from the recent history of world football appear in the history of the former referee. Was the first Spanish referee to be present in a World Cup final, specifically that of 2006. His work was to act as fourth official and he did so by communicating to Horacio Elizondo that Zinedine Zidane had attacked Materazzi with a header. “I saw the play live and I was surprised,” says Medina Cantalejo.
A long trajectory
In their eleven seasons in First division (directed 171 games), he had to direct the famous game of the suckling pig from Camp Nou, in which it was the return of Luis Figo to what had been his home. The tension marked the development of the crash, but the truth is that the Andalusian dealt in a good way with an unbreathable environment.
You cannot be friends with the players while umpiring
Best First referee
Medina Cantalejo now know what to be working on the CTA, since he did it for two years directing the technical aspect of the referees of the Second Division B. In 2005 he was recognized as the best First referee. He closed his presence on the pitch by directing the Copa del Rey and UEFA finals.
As a referee he liked to impose his character on the field of play and as a first step to achieve the respect of all. Nor did he seek to make friends among the players, but he did try to find some complicity. “You can’t be friends with them while umpiring. Years later I’ve laughed a lot with them. The referee cannot pat or go telling jokes to the players “, points out Medina Cantalejo in an interview with ‘Amigos del arbitraje’. Physical preparation was another of his strengths.
“I like to help referee, which is a long-term project. It’s not a matter of a year or two, but I don’t want to stay in a job forever. The day will come when another younger and more prepared than me will come, “he says.