Kevin Ortega
| Full name | Kevin Ortega Pimentel | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
26 March 1992 Callao, Peru | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2015– | Peruvian Primera División | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2019– | FIFA | Referee | |
| CONMEBOL | Referee | ||
Kevin Ortega Pimentel (born 26 March 1992) is a Peruvian football referee who is a listed international referee for FIFA since 2019. He has also been officiating matches in the Peruvian Primera División since 2015. Ortega is one of the youngest referees in the Peruvian Football Federation.[1]
Ortega has faced multiple controversies. In the Peruvian league, he was accused of missing a penalty call in a Universitario de Deportes vs. Cienciano match. During the 2022 Copa Libertadores, he was criticized after Boca Juniors won against Club Always Ready with a controversial penalty, and Bolivian police found Boca Juniors shirts in his booth, although Boca Juniors stated the gifts were customary. In the 2024 Copa America match between the USMNT and Uruguay, Ortega faced criticism for contentious calls, including stopping play to issue a yellow card that benefited Uruguay.
Refereeing career
He worked in SUNAT from 2014 to 2015.[2] On 12 May 2015, Ortega made his debut in the Primera División, the highest Peruvian division, at the age of 23. During the game between Unión Comercio and Alianza Atlético (5–2), he drew the yellow card twice.[3] Ortega has also been regularly used in the South American club competitions, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.
International
Ortega became an international referee on the FIFA list in 2019.[4] He made his international debut in March 2019 in a match at the 2019 South American U-17 Championship between Argentina and Colombia. He was summoned to officiate a match in November of that year in a friendly between Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago.
In 2021, FIFA nominated Ortega for the 2020 Summer Olympics Football Tournament in Tokyo, where he featured in three games including the semi-final.[5] In May 2022, Ortega was appointed in the 36 referee squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[6][7] He was accompanied by his assistants Michael Orué and Jesús Sánchez.[6]
Controversies
Peruvian League
In the Peruvian league, he has been accused of making mistakes when calling plays by different teams, including a controversial penalty not called in the match between Universitario de Deportes and Cienciano.[8]
Copa Libertadores
At the Copa Libertadores game between Club Always Ready from Bolivia and Boca Juniors from Argentina in May 2022, he was at the center of a controversy. Boca Juniors won the game 1–0 on a controversial penalty, after which the Bolivian police searched the referee's booth and seized several Boca Junior shirts that had been given to the referee team before the game. Always Ready representatives accused Ortega of taking advantage, while Boca Juniors commented that the gifts were a standard gesture.[9][10]
United States v. Uruguay
Ortega faced further criticism during the 2024 Copa America match between the USMNT and Uruguay. Several contentious calls, including stopping play to issue a yellow card while giving Uruguay an advantage, marked his officiating.[11][12] On the other hand, Ortega appeared to treat the US squad unfairly, stopping play for a Uruguay handball despite Christian Pulisic having a clear advantage.[13]
Several fans, media outlets and journalists from different countries harshly criticized Ortega's poor refereeing on social media.[8] In response to Ortega stopping play to issue a yellow card while giving Uruguay an advantage, Journalist Jaime Ojeda lambasted the referee, saying that "he doesn't seem to be very good at this profession" and categorically labelling him as "absolutely insane."[8]
Following the conclusion of the match, the United States' captain, Christian Pulisic, offered a handshake to the linesmen, Michel Orue and Stephen Atoche, who subsequently would accept his offer, while Ortega denied Pulisic, and he was subsequently slammed on social media for a "lack of sportsmanship" by the American press, whom have also called for FIFA and CONEMBOL to investigate Ortega's integrity to officiate further games.
References
- ^ "Kevin Ortega: "Un buen arbitraje sería pasar desapercibido y ver un clásico dinámico"". GOLPERU (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Unete Sunat - Unete a la Sunat". unete.sunat.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.[failed verification]
- ^ Wedstrijdgegevens Unión Comercio – Alianza Atlético bij Voetbal.com
- ^ 2022 Refereeing International Lists FIFA
- ^ "List of the match officials for the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA.com. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ a b List of appointed FIFA Match Officials FIFA
- ^ "Kevin Ortega, el árbitro peruano preseleccionado para dirigir el Mundial Catar 2022". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Joaquín, Del Aguila (2 July 2024). "Kevin Ortega fue destruido por hinchas de Estados Unidos por mal arbitraje: "No sirve para su profesión"". Diario Deportivo El Diez (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ López, Eduardo; Allen, William (1 July 2024). "Who is Kevin Ortega, the referee for USMNT - Uruguay at the Copa América today?". Diario AS. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Sauertieg, Clay (2 July 2024). "Controversial United States-Uruguay Copa America Ref Kevin Ortega Has History Of Corruption". BroBible. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "Who is Kevin Ortega? Controversial referee takes center stage during USMNT's Copa America clash with Uruguay | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "USA soccer vs. Uruguay score, standings: USMNT eliminated in Copa America group stage after loss". CBSSports.com. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Salao, Renzo Pocholo (2 July 2024). "Christian Pulisic had contentious moment with referee after USMNT-Uruguay match". Larry Brown Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2024.