One of the best South American referees, Oscar Ruiz (Colombia) announced that the Copa Libertadores game between Cerro Porteno and Estudiantes, played on 5 May 2011, was his last international match. He could have continued for three more years, being age-eligible for a fourth World Cup, but he decided to stop his refereeing career. “I am very pleased with what I did in my 27 years of refereeing, with the last 17 spent on the FIFA List”, said Ruiz in an interview with the Colombian Radio Caracol. Voted the third best referee of the first decade of this century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Ruiz refereed at three World Cups: Korea/Japan 2002, Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010. "It would have been nice to referee a World Cup final, but it was not a frustration for me because I performed at the top and I put in all my honesty. I may have been wrong sometimes, but always acted in good faith", said Ruiz. He will stay involved in the elite refereeing by becoming a FIFA RAP (Referee Assistance Program) Instructor for South America.
1995 FIFA U-17 World Cup – Ecuador
1995 CONMEBOL Copa America – Uruguay
1997 FIFA U-20 World Cup – Malaysia
1998 Copa Merconorte Final: Deportivo - Atletico
1999 CONMEBOL Copa America Final – Paraguay: Uruguay - Brazil
1999 FIFA Confederations Cup – Mexico
2000 FIFA Club World Cup – Brazil
2000 Intercontinental Cup: Boca Juniors - Real Madrid
2001 CONMEBOL Copa America – Colombia
2001 FIFA Confederations Cup – Korea/Japan
2002 FIFA World Cup – Korea/Japan
2002 Copa Libertadores Final: Santo Andre - Olimpia
2003 FIFA U-20 World Cup – UAE
2003 Copa Libertadores Final: Boca Juniors - Santos
2004 CONMEBOL Copa America – Peru
2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup – Netherlands
2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup – USA
2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup – Peru
2006 FIFA World Cup – Germany
2006 Recopa Sudamericana Final: Sao Paulo - Boca Juniors
2006 FIFA Club World Cup – Japan
2007 Copa Libertadores Final: Gremio - Boca Juniors
2007 CONMEBOL Copa America – Venezuela
2007 Copa Sudamericana Final: Arsenal – America
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup – Egypt
2010 FIFA World Cup – South Africa
