Horacio Elizondo

Elizondo took charge of the opening game of the tournament between Germany and Costa Rica, which Germany won 4-2. Elizondo handed out one yellow card, to Costa Rica’s Danny Fonseca. The match had a total of 22 fouls and 6 offsides, both statistics split evenly between the two teams. FIFA's president of the World cup organizing committee Lennart Johansson praised Elizondo performance at the match, saying "I did not notice him much which is a very good thing."

Elizondo was the referee for the Final of the tournament in Berlin on July 9, between France and Italy. He awarded France a penalty after Florent Malouda went down in the box under contact from Marco Materazzi. Elizondo gave Zinedine Zidane a red card after he headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest in the 111th minute after consulting fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo via headset.

On August 16, 2006 Elizondo refereed the second final of the 2006 Copa Libertadores.

Elizondo was appointed to represent Argentina in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, together with fellow assistants Darío García and Rodolfo Otero. He officiated three group games: Germany-Costa Rica, Czech Republic-Ghana, and Switzerland-South Korea. He also took charge of the England-Portugal quarterfinal, as well as the final game between Italy and France, becoming the first referee in World Cup history to referee both the opening and final games of one World Cup, a feat later matched by compatriot Néstor Pitana in the 2018 edition (English referee George Reader also officiated the first and last matches of Brazil 1950, but the last one, also known as Maracanazo, was not technically a final). Elizondo handed out a total of 29 cards in the tournament, three of which were red, for an average of 5.8 cards per game.

He also refereed in the final matches of the 2002 and 2005 Copa Libertadores de América. In the 2005 tournament the two Brazilian finalist teams São Paulo FC and Atlético Paranaense lobbied Conmebol to have Elizondo as the main referee.

In the annual world referee ranking of the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Elizondo was positioned 5th in 2001, 12th in 2005 and 1st in 2006.

Among the several international competitions in which he participated are the Copa América of 1997 and 1999), the U-17 World Cup of 1997 and 2005, the U-20 World Youth Championships of 2003 and 2005, the Olympic Games of 2004, and the FIFA Club World Championship of 2000. In the latter, he showed a red card to David Beckham in the tie between Manchester United and Necaxa.

Elizondo completed studies in physical education, and started refereeing after finishing the AFA course. His debut in the Argentine first division was in the Deportivo Español vs. Belgrano de Córdoba match in 1992. He was named international in 1994, and directed his first international match on October 9, 1996 between Ecuador and Colombia for the 1998 World Cup qualifications.

Horacio Marcelo Elizondo (born November 4, 1963 in Don Bosco, district of Quilmes) is a former Argentine international football referee best known for his officiation throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Having achieved all his goals in refereeing, Elizondo retired after the December 10 match between Boca Juniors and Lanús, 3 years before the compulsory retirement age of 45.