Ovidiu Alin Hațegan (born 14 July 1980) is a Romanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

who officiates primarily in the

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

and for

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

as a FIFA international referee. He is ranked as a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

elite category referee.

Football career

Born in Arad, Hațegan became a

referee in 2008. He went to referee at both the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns. In 2013,

president

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...

ordered an internal investigation to ascertain why Hațegan did not apply the protocol for dealing with allegedly racist chants from the crowd during a match at the

Arena Khimki Arena Khimki (russian: «Арена Химки») is a football stadium in Khimki, Russia. Located 300 metres north of the MKAD highway, it lies on the Moscow Oblast side of the border with Moscow. It is the home stadium of FC Khimki. History T ...

between

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

PFC CSKA Moscow Professional Football Club CSKA (russian: link=yes, Профессиональный футбольный клуб – ЦСКА, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English l ...

. CSKA Moscow was later charged with "racist behavior" for the incident, but Hațegan was absolved of blame. In August 2016, Hațegan refereed in the men's football tournament at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. He refereed two matches during this tournament, including the semifinal between Brazil and Honduras. On 9 November 2017, he was in charge of the first leg of the 2018 World Cup qualification play-off between

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. During this match, he awarded a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

to Switzerland after the ball struck the arm of Northern Irish defender

Corry Evans Corry John Evans (born 30 July 1990) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or centre-back for EFL Championship side Sunderland. A Northern Ireland under-21 and senior international, he came through the Manchester ...

, which was tucked closely against his body. Switzerland scored the penalty kick and would go on to defeat Northern Ireland 1-0 on aggregate, earning qualification to the World Cup. Hațegan later admitted that he was wrong to award the penalty kick, and that this mistake may have played a part in his exclusion from the roster of match officials for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 19 November 2018, after being informed at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

of the

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

fixture between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

of the death of his mother, and even though he could have legally been replaced, Hațegan chose to continue officiating until the end of the match, which ended 2–2 in

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

and qualified the visiting team to the final four. Visibly distraught, he was consoled after the full whistle by Dutch

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Virgil van Dijk Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world, Van Dijk is known for his strength, le ...

. Hațegan has refereed at two

UEFA European Championships The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

, officiating two group stage games each in the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

tournaments. In 2022, Hațegan suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

; it is unclear whether he will retire from football.

Personal life

Hațegan majored in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the Victor Babeș University in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

. He later taught

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

in English at the Vasile Goldiș Western University in his hometown. Hațegan married his wife Nicoleta in 2009, with the couple parenting two children.

Refereeing record

UEFA Euro

Summer Olympics

References

External links

Romanian Football Federation profile

World Referee profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hategan, Ovidiu 1980 births Living people Sportspeople from Arad, Romania Romanian football referees UEFA Champions League referees UEFA Europa League referees UEFA Euro 2016 referees Football referees at the 2016 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 2020 referees