# István Kovács (referee)

István Kovács (Hungarian pronunciation:; born 16 September 1984) is a Romanian football referee who primarily officiates in the Liga I. He has been a full international for FIFA since 2018, and a UEFA elite referee since 2019.

## Career

Kovács was one of two Romanian referees selected to officiate in UEFA Euro 2020, the other being Ovidiu Hațegan. He was in charge of one group stage game, the Group D fixture between the Netherlands and North Macedonia on 21 June 2021 in Amsterdam, which ended in a 3-0 victory for the Dutch.
On 26 April 2022 he refereed the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Manchester City and Real Madrid in Manchester, which City won 4-3. Because of the good performance, Kovács was praised by the media, especially for the advantage he allowed in the build-up to Bernardo Silva's goal. As a reward for his good performance, the UEFA Referees Committee chose him to officiate the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League final between A.S. Roma and Feyenoord, the first ever final of the competition. Roma won the final in Albania 1-0 and became the first title holders of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The same year, István Kovács was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, along with his compatriot assistant referees Vasile Marinescu and Mihai Artene. He wasn't ultimately picked as overall referee for any match, but he was the fourth official in eight fixtures.
On 19 January 2023 he refereed the final of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup between Iraq and Oman. That same month, he was one of six match officials appointed for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. On 7 February he oversaw the semi-final between Brazilian side Flamengo and Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal, which Al Hilal won 3-2.
In June 2023, Kovács was appointed as the fourth official for the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan, which City won 1-0.
In May 2024, he was selected by UEFA to referee the UEFA Europa League Final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen, on 22 May in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Atalanta won the match 3-0, breaking Leverkusen's record-break winning streak. As expected, he was picked for UEFA Euro 2024, where he officiated two group stage fixtures–Slovenia vs. Serbia on 20 June, and Czech Republic vs. Turkey on 26 June. In the latter game, Kovács broke the European Championship record for the most cautions between both teams in a single match, handing out sixteen yellow cards and two reds. By sending off Czech midfielder Antonín Barák for a second bookable offence only 20 minutes into the match, he also broke the record for the fastest red card in the history of the European Championship. Czech striker Tomáš Chorý was shown a direct red card during a melée between the two teams after the end of the match.

## Personal life

Kovács is part of the Hungarian minority in Romania, and is also part-German through his maternal side. He holds both a Romanian and a Hungarian passport. His younger brother, Szabolcs, is also a referee in the Romanian Liga I.
He was born in Carei, Satu Mare County, and currently resides in Cluj-Napoca. In recognition of his refereeing career, he became a Honorary Citizen of Carei in 2023.