Kovács István

István Kovács is an international football referee from Carei and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2010. At the beginning of his career, he also worked as a physical education teacher at the Iuliu Maniu High School in Carei, before going on to referee at the highest level of international football.

In 2022, he officiated the UEFA Conference League final between AS Roma and Feyenoord, followed by the UEFA Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen in 2024, and the UEFA Champions League final between PSG and Inter in 2025. In doing so, he became the first referee to officiate the finals of all three of UEFA’s current major men’s club competitions.

In 2026, he also played a prominent role at the FIFA World Cup: FIFA appointed him to officiate the 1,000th match in World Cup history, Tunisia vs Japan, followed by Jordan vs Argentina. His career has established him as one of the leading referees in international football.