Years League Name Ioan Igna | Years League Role Referee | |
Born June 4, 1940 (age 84) Timisoara, Romania ( 1940-06-04 ) | ||
West Germany 1-2 Netherlands 1988
Ioan Igna (born June 4, 1940 in Timișoara) is a Romanian retired football referee. He is known for having refereed two matches in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, including an epic quarter-final match between Brazil and France. Igna made two controversial calls during the tie. In the second period of extra time, he did not penalise a foul by the Brazil goalkeeper Carlos on France attacker Bruno Bellone. BBC commentator Jimmy Hill described Igna's decision to ignore the foul by Carlos as "an extreme mistake". In the penalty shootout, he awarded a goal when Bellone's shot hit the post and the ball rebounded off Carlos before entering the goal. The laws of the game were subsequently amended to specifically address the situation that occurred in the penalty shootout.
He also refereed the second leg of the 1987 UEFA Cup Final and a semi-final in the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship in West Germany between the Netherlands and West Germany.