Kevin Ortega
Full name Kevin Ortega Pimentel
Born (1992-03-26) 26 March 1992 (age 31)
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]

Biography

Kevin Ortega was born in Callao on 26 March 1992. 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 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.

Ortega has also been regularly used in the South American club competitions, the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. 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.[5]

Ortega had potential to officiate major tournaments, primarily the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[6]

In 2021, FIFA nominated Ortega for the 2020 Summer Olympics Football Tournament in Tokyo, where he featured in three games including the semi-final.[7] In May 2022, Ortega was appointed in the 36 referee squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[8] He will be accompanied by his assistants Michael Orué and Jesús Sánchez.[8]

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Unete Sunat - Unete a la Sunat". unete.sunat.gob.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2020.[failed verification]
  3. ^ Wedstrijdgegevens Unión Comercio – Alianza Atlético bij Voetbal.com
  4. ^ 2022 Refereeing International Lists FIFA
  5. ^ Benedetti, Eliezer (19 May 2022). "Kevin Ortega al Mundial: ¿Quién es el polémico árbitro peruano que estará en Qatar 2022?" (in Spanish). El Comercio. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Kevin Ortega, el árbitro peruano preseleccionado para dirigir el Mundial Catar 2022". andina.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  7. ^ "List of the match officials for the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020" (PDF). FIFA.com. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b List of appointed FIFA Match Officials FIFA
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