Born |
Kingdom of Romania | 4 June 1940||
---|---|---|---|
Other occupation | Footballer | ||
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1974–1989 | Liga I | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1976–1989 | FIFA-listed | Referee |
Ioan Igna (born 4 June 1940) is a Romanian former football referee and player. Igna played football at UTA Arad between 1957 and 1960 and 1964–1967 and at Știința Timișoara between 1961 and 1964, he became a referee in 1972.[1][2][3] 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.[4][5] BBC commentator Jimmy Hill described Igna's decision to ignore the foul by Carlos as "an extreme mistake".[6] 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.[4] The laws of the game were subsequently amended to specifically address the situation that occurred in the penalty shootout.[7]
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.