The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) presented Nestor Pitana as their new Head of Referees at a press conference held at the House of Football. The Argentine holds the position of President of the National Referees Committee, replacing Roger Zambrano. Pitana had already been proposed to lead a Pro referee sub-committee that was going to be created within the National Committee. That happened in September last year when presidents of the Pro League met with Francisco Egas, president of the FEF, to find a solution to the constant mistakes of Ecuadorian referees. The other option was his compatriot Hector Baldassi, but time passed and that didn't happen. Now the FEF has made their decision. In 2021, FEF already did something similar, when they hired Baldassi himself as a referee advisor. However, now Pitana would even come to live in Ecuador to do his job.
Pitana, 48, retired from professional refereeing in 2022 after a very successful career. The Argentine attended two FIFA World Cups: Brazil 2014 (where he refereed four matches) and Russia 2018 (appointed to five games, including the final). In Brazil, he refereed 3 group stage matches and one of the quarter-finals, while in Russia he refereed the opening match and the big final, in addition to round of 16 and quarter-final matches. In total, he refereed 26 international A matches, while he had more than 300 games in the in the Argentine first division, including championship finals.
"Thank God for this moment, for this presentation. As I always say, referees are Team One, it's a fundamental part of football. We have a lot of potential, there are great referees. You have to believe, plan and feel football. The referee must be at the service of the game, with the commitment and conviction to do things right to minimise mistakes. My humble career has let me have this beautiful story. It's a big responsibility I'm taking. There are many things to work on around the clock because of the imminent start of the league, but you have to go out on the field with courage to make strong decisions. The players and the fans want that. That's what we do as a Referee Committee, we have to live up to it. We need to look for new talents in refereeing; it will be one of the priorities we are going to have in this management, so I want you to support me and be patient. The challenge is great and that's why we're here. As chairman of this important committee, I look forward to it, I love football and that's why it makes it easier for me, in addition to my passion for refereeing. I want to give the tools, tips, and opportunities to all referees in the country. There is no place in the world where refereeing is not questioned, but one has to work to minimize the margin of error. We have to look for talent; there is raw material.I know a lot of Ecuadorian referees, so I was able to do a kind of X-ray of each one. We have to be patient since new names have appeared, but they have to go through a process. You have to give them the freedom of decision-making. You never have to lose the imprint and style of the Ecuadorian referees; we just want to reinforce that. We each have a seal. I am convinced that our team of referees will be up to it."
Francisco Egas (FEF President) on the appointment of Pitana: "We believe in the progress of refereeing. There is a group of young referees in the country, coming from a different training system than the previous one. Ecuadorian refereeing is in full progress, it deserves to be at the top level again and lead in the football world; it is the primary objective we have for refereeing. One of the intentions of the FEF is to have a dedicated referee department and to put it in the hands of Pitana. Our idea is for Nestor to tell us who he wants to work with and what empty spots need to be filled. Later, we will dedicate ourselves to looking for the ideal profiles. On the issue of the debt of the referees, we have been working with an agreement more than a year ago. Unfortunately, we could not pay in time, but that thanks to the agreement they are calm. We have $1,200.000 in debts to the referees, but hopefully this year will be quieter in that respect."
Source: Ole