# Marco Antonio Rodríguez

Marco Antonio Rodríguez Moreno (born 10 November 1973 in Mexico City) is a Mexican former football referee and current analyst.

## Career

After completing a training as a football referee in Tepic and studying Physical Education, Rodríguez began a career as a professional match official in 1995. He would soon become one of the top referees in the Mexican First Division, where he earned a reputation for commanding respect on the pitch, although he was also known for his temperament and for being quick to show yellow and red cards.
After an incident during the Apertura 2011 final between Tigres and Santos Laguna, he was suspended for 5 games by the Mexican Federation when he showed two yellow cards at the same time to Héctor Mancilla and Carlos Adrián Morales. During the 2014 Copa Libertadores game between Atlético Nacional and Nacional, he gave the quickest red card in the history of the competition when he sent off Alejandro Bernal from Atlético Nacional after 27 seconds into the game for a harsh tackle.
An international referee since 2000, Rodríguez was selected for three FIFA World Cups. In the 2006 tournament in Germany, he refereed the England vs Paraguay match and the Côte d'Ivoire vs Serbia and Montenegro match, where he sent off Cyril Domoraud and Albert Nađ. In the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Rodríguez was match referee for the first group match between Australia and Germany, where he gave a straight red card to Australian striker Tim Cahill. He also sent off Chile's Marco Estrada during the group stage encounter between Chile and Spain.
His final international tournament was the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, in which he took charge of 3 games. During the first round, he refereed the final group D match between Uruguay and Italy, where he sent off Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio after an alleged studs-up challenge on Egidio Arévalo. Later in the match, Rodríguez failed to see Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. After the match, which Italy lost 1–0, eliminating them from the tournament, with Uruguay advancing in their place, this assault launched a FIFA Disciplinary Committee investigation that ultimately ruled that Suárez would receive a 9-match suspension and a fine, and would be banned from any football activity for four months.
Two weeks later, Rodríguez officiated the semifinal between hosts Brazil and eventual champions Germany, which ended in a historic 1-7 loss for Brazil. After the end of the tournament, Rodríguez announced his retirement as referee.
In August 2019, Rodríguez signed as head coach of Spanish third-tier team Salamanca CF. However, few days later and just one day before starting the league, he was sacked.
In 2020, he joined TUDN as a football analyst. He was partially removed from the channel in early 2024, although as of June 2024 he continues making appearances on Foro TV.

## Personal life

Early in his refereeing career, Rodríguez was nicknamed "Chiquidrácula" due to his resemblance with a Mexican TV character of child Count Dracula, portrayed by Carlos Espejel. Later, Rodríguez stated that he preferred to be called "Chiquimarco", as he deemed the Dracula reference to be incompatible with his Christian faith.
A sports professor during his early days as a referee, Rodríguez also formerly served as a Protestant Pastor.
In July 2023, Rodríguez was indicted on charges of domestic violence against his wife and one of his daughters.

## World Cup matches officiated

| Tournament | Date | Venue | Round | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
| 2006 | 10 June | Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt | First round | England | 1–0 | Paraguay |
| 2006 | 21 June | Allianz Arena, Munich | First round | Ivory Coast | 3–2 | Serbia and Montenegro |
| 2010 | 13 June | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban | First round | Germany | 4–0 | Australia |
| 2010 | 25 June | Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria | First round | Spain | 2–1 | Chile |
| 2014 | 17 June | Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte | First round | Belgium | 2–1 | Algeria |
| 2014 | 24 June | Arena das Dunas, Natal | First round | Italy | 0–1 | Uruguay |
| 2014 | 8 July | Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte | Semi-finals | Brazil | 1–7 | Germany |