Marco Antonio Rodriguez

Career

In Mexico, Rodriguez developed a reputation of not being afraid to show many yellow and red cards. He was suspended for 5 games by the Mexican Federation after an incident during the Apertura 2011 final between Tigres and Santos Laguna when he showed 2 yellow cards at the same time to Hector Mancilla and Carlos Adrian Morales respectively which is against the laws of the game since referees are only allowed to bring only one yellow and red card to the game. During the 2014 Copa Libertadores game between Atletico Nacional and Nacional, he gave the quickest red card in the history of the competition when he sent off Alejandro Bernal from Atletico Nacional after 27 seconds into the game for a harsh tackle.

An international referee since 2000, Rodriguez has been selected for three FIFA World Cups. In the 2006 tournament in Germany, he refereed the England vs Paraguay match and the Cote d'Ivoire vs Serbia and Montenegro match, where he sent off Cyril Domoraud and Albert Nad. In the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Rodriguez was match referee for the first group match between Australia and Germany, where he contentiously gave a straight red card to Australian striker Tim Cahill. He also sent off Chile's Marco Estrada in a controversial decision during the group stage encounter between Chile and Spain. Finally, he has been selected for the 2014 tournament in Brazil, in which he took charge of 3 games including the semifinal between Germany and Brazil, after which he announced his retirement.

He was also the referee for Uruguay's final group game against Italy on 24 June, Uruguay needed a win to advance to the knockout stage while Italy only needed a draw. Around the 79th minute with the score at 0–0, Suarez clashed with Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini while waiting for a cross. Replays showed that Suarez lunged at Chiellini and bit his shoulder (Chiellini showed bite marks), followed by Suarez falling and clutching his face. The controversial incident made headline news around the world. As the Italian players protested to Mexican referee Rodriguez for not penalising Suarez for the bite, Uruguay won a corner and scored. The game would finish 1–0 to Uruguay as they qualified for the knockout stage and eliminated Italy.

Personal life

He had the nickname "Chiquidracula" in reference to his resemblance to a Mexican TV character of child Count Dracula, portrayed by Carlos Espejel. More recently he asked to not be called "Chiquidracula", but rather "Chiquimarco" instead in reference to his Christian faith.

A former sports professor, he now serves as a Protestant priest outside of his activity as a referee.