The Referees Committee chose Horacio Elizondo to improve the refereeing of Liga MX. He began his career in a top league like Argentina, spent 20 years being a referee, has his YouTube channel to analyze refereeing and is the second referee who had the courage to send off Zinedine Zidane in a FIFA World Cup. Elizondo will be the next instructor of referees of the Mexican Football Federation, who has chosen the former international to try to put order in the Referees Committee after the controversies of the last semesters.
Horacio Elizondo was born in Buenos Aires, studied to be a professor of Physical Education and at the age of 20 made the decision to be a professional referee without knowing that his character and discipline would lead him to referee First Division games and later the World Cup final. In fact, it was due to a handball game, when he was a student, that the idea of becoming a professional referee came to life for the first time. Elizondo told the press people of the Costa Rica Football Federation how he was told first time that he could be a referee. “When I was in the faculty studying Physical Education one of the subjects was handball, the teacher teaches us the rules of the game and then leads us to do a practice between colleagues to see if we had understood. It was my turn to do 10 minutes of practice and when we finished, he called me and asked me if I had ever thought that I could be a referee. I asked him why and he said, "I saw with your teammates that you tie them all up, your best friend Alberto went to the first one who caused issues and told him that he would not allow any protest". I didn't notice it and then he said "We need referees in our association".
After his debut in Argentine football as a professional referee, the competitions were gradually coming. That's how he led World Cups, intercontinental tournaments, and Olympic Games. In fact, he became the first referee to lead the start and final of the same World Cup. He had 22 years of experience when he came the opportunity to referee the opening of the 2006 World Cup Germany between Germany and Costa Rica and then he also took charge of the Final between France and Italy. That was the final in which Zinedine Zidane became so upset with the Materazzi that he gave him a header in his chest and was sent off. The French midfielder had to leave the game, and his team ended up losing the final. That decision was thanks to the fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo, who told him about Zidane's headbutt, because the Argentine referee did not see the action. “I went to my AR and told him something that very few people know: "I want you focused because you should have seen that". Then I turned around, put the hand in my pocket, pulled the red card and Zidane was out", said Elizondo.
After retiring from the field, Elizondo's work has not stopped. Thanks to his extensive experience, he was called by the Football Federation of Costa Rica to work with the referees of the Central American country and from 2025 he will be with the Mexican Federation because Juan Manuel Herrero, director of the Referees Committee, has decided to hire him as the new instructor of the Mexican referees.
Source: Medio Tiempo
