Luis Medina Cantalejo, 57-year-old former Andalusian referee, became the Head of the Spanish Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), replacing Carlos Velasco Carballo. Born in Tomanes (Seville) he was until now the Head of the Andalusian referees. Having a grandfather and father who were both referees, he discovered his vocation late and he took it up more to please his father than out of his own desire. He wanted to be a footballer and he trained as such. The referee trial was positive and he ended up “falling in love”, as he likes to say, with refereeing in regional football.
Some of the episodes from the recent history of world football appear in the history of the former referee Medina Cantalejo. He was the first Spanish referee present in a World Cup final, specifically in 2006. His task was to act as fourth official and he did so very seriously by informing referee Horacio Elizondo that Zinedine Zidane had attacked Materazzi with a headbutt. "I saw the play live and I was surprised", says Medina Cantalejo. In his 11 seasons in the First Division (171 matches), he refereed the famous suckling pig match at Camp Nou, in which Luis Figo returned to what had been his home. The tension marked the clash, but the truth is that the Andalusian referee dealt in a good way with an unbreathable environment. Medina Cantalejo already knows how the CTA is working, since he did it for two years directing the technical aspect of the Second B Division referees. In 2005 he was recognized as the best First Division referee. He ended his career on the pitch by refereeing the Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup finals.
As a referee he liked to impose his character on the field of play, as a first step to achieve the respect of all. He also did not seek to make friends among the players, but he did try to find some complicity. "You cannot be friends with them while you referee. Years later I have laughed a lot with them, but the referee cannot tell jokes to the players while refereeing", Medina Cantalejo points out in an interview with “Amigos del arbitraje”. Physical preparation was another of his strong points. "I like to help refereeing, which is a long-term project. It is not a matter of a year or two, but also I do not want to stay in a position forever. The day will come when someone younger and better prepared than me will come", he concluded.
Source: Marca