Antonio López Nieto
Spanish football referee / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Jesús López Nieto (born 25 January 1958 in Málaga, Andalusia) is a former Spanish football referee, who officiated at one FIFA World Cup and during the UEFA Champions League.
Full name | Antonio Jesús López Nieto | ||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
(1958-01-25) 25 January 1958 (age 66) Málaga, Spain | ||
Other occupation | Architect | ||
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1988-2003 | La Liga | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1993-2003 | FIFA-listed | Referee |
In 1995, López accused representatives of Dynamo Kyiv of attempting to bribe him before a UEFA Champions League game against Panathinaikos of Greece, a charge Dynamo Kyiv continue to deny. As a result of this accusation, UEFA banned Dynamo from competitions for two years,[1] a sanction that was later overturned.
He has refereed in three UEFA Cup finals, in 1995 (first leg), 1998 and 2000. López set a record at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, issuing 14 yellow cards and 2 red cards in a match between Germany and Cameroon.[2] This record was then broken in the 2006 tournament by Valentin Ivanov during the match between Portugal and Netherlands, who issued 16 yellow cards and 4 red cards.