Néstor Pitana

Néstor Fabián Pitana (born 17 June 1975) is an Argentine former football referee who refereed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2015 Copa América and 2018 FIFA World Cup. He oversaw the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Pitana was appointed to take charge of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia at Moscow on 15 July 2018. He became the second referee to take charge of the opening game and the Final in the same tournament (after fellow Argentinian Horacio Elizondo, who did the same in 2006).

2018 World Cup final
Pitana's performance in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final has seen some controversy, mostly related to the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. France's first goal was scored from a free kick that was seen by many as a dive from Antoine Griezmann (the rules at the time related to VAR forbade intervention in the case, however). France's second goal was scored from a penalty given after Pitana was informed by VAR that he may wish to review the recording of Ivan Perišić's handball. After a lengthy deliberation, Pitana awarded the penalty to France, which many pundits called an incorrect interpretation of the rules.

2021 Copa America
"And not for the first time in his career," Pitana's decisions during the 24 June 2021 Copa America game between Brazil and Colombia were also a source of intense controversy. At the 78th minute, Pitana continued the game on a ball that had hit his legs, which according to International Football Association Board rules, should have led to a stop of play. As the Colombian players stood still expecting play to be paused, Brazil scored, tying the match and eventually contributing to Brazil's 2-1 victory.

Statistics
Source: worldfootball.net