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Marco Antonio Rodríguez

Rodríguez officiating a match between Tijuana and Atlas in 2012
Full name	Marco Antonio Rodríguez Moreno
Born	(1973-11-10) 10 November 1973 (age 51) Mexico City, Mexico
Domestic
Years	League	Role
1997–2014	Primera División	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2000–2014	FIFA listed	Referee

Marco Antonio Rodríguez Moreno (born 10 November 1973 in Mexico City) is a Mexican former football referee and current analyst.

Career

After completing a training as a football referee in Tepic and studying Physical Education, Rodríguez began a career as a professional match official in 1995. He would soon become one of the top referees in the Mexican First Division, where he earned a reputation for commanding respect on the pitch, although he was also known for his temperament and for being quick to show yellow and red cards.

After an incident during the Apertura 2011 final between Tigres and Santos Laguna, he was suspended for 5 games by the Mexican Federation when he showed two yellow cards at the same time to Héctor Mancilla and Carlos Adrián Morales. During the 2014 Copa Libertadores game between Atlético Nacional and Nacional, he gave the quickest red card in the history of the competition when he sent off Alejandro Bernal from Atlético Nacional after 27 seconds into the game for a harsh tackle.

An international referee since 2000, Rodríguez was selected for three FIFA World Cups. In the 2006 tournament in Germany, he refereed the England vs Paraguay match and the Côte d'Ivoire vs Serbia and Montenegro match, where he sent off Cyril Domoraud and Albert Nađ. In the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Rodríguez was match referee for the first group match between Australia and Germany, where he gave a straight red card to Australian striker Tim Cahill. He also sent off Chile's Marco Estrada during the group stage encounter between Chile and Spain.

His final international tournament was the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, in which he took charge of 3 games. During the first round, he refereed the final group D match between Uruguay and Italy, where he sent off Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio after an alleged studs-up challenge on Egidio Arévalo. Later in the match, Rodríguez failed to see Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. After the match, which Italy lost 1–0, eliminating them from the tournament, with Uruguay advancing in their place, this assault launched a FIFA Disciplinary Committee investigation that ultimately ruled that Suárez would receive a 9-match suspension and a fine, and would be banned from any football activity for four months.

Two weeks later, Rodríguez officiated the semifinal between hosts Brazil and eventual champions Germany, which ended in a historic 1-7 loss for Brazil. After the end of the tournament, Rodríguez announced his retirement as referee.

In August 2019, Rodríguez signed as head coach of Spanish third-tier team Salamanca CF. However, few days later and just one day before starting the league, he was sacked.

In 2020, he joined TUDN as a football analyst. He was partially removed from the channel in early 2024, although as of June 2024 he continues making appearances on Foro TV.

Personal life

Early in his refereeing career, Rodríguez was nicknamed "Chiquidrácula" due to his resemblance with a Mexican TV character of child Count Dracula, portrayed by Carlos Espejel. Later, Rodríguez stated that he preferred to be called "Chiquimarco", as he deemed the Dracula reference to be incompatible with his Christian faith.

A sports professor during his early days as a referee, Rodríguez also formerly served as a Protestant Pastor.

In July 2023, Rodríguez was indicted on charges of domestic violence against his wife and one of his daughters.

World Cup matches officiated

Tournament	Date	Venue	Round	Team 1	Result	Team 2
2006	10 June	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt	First round	England	1–0	Paraguay
2006	21 June	Allianz Arena, Munich	First round	Ivory Coast	3–2	Serbia and Montenegro
2010	13 June	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban	First round	Germany	4–0	Australia
2010	25 June	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria	First round	Spain	2–1	Chile
2014	17 June	Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte	First round	Belgium	2–1	Algeria
2014	24 June	Arena das Dunas, Natal	First round	Italy	0–1	Uruguay
2014	8 July	Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte	Semi-finals	Brazil	1–7	Germany

References

1. "Perfil: ¿Quién es 'Chiquimarco' Rodríguez, exárbitro del futbol mexicano?". El Financiero. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
2. Cristian dice (15 January 2009). "Marco Antonio Rodríguez vuelve a pitar un Mundial | Palco Deportivo". Palcodeportivo.mx. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
3. "Suspendido un árbitro mexicano que sacó dos tarjetas a la vez".
4. "Los 10 momentos de Chiquimarco Rodríguez". 8 July 2014.
5. Fox Sports (21 May 2014). "Chile helps cement South American dominance at 2010 World Cup". Fox Sports. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
6. "Referees & assistant referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup" (PDF). FIFA.com (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2014.
7. Herrera, Luis. "Italy - Uruguay Preview: Guaranteed exit for a former world champion". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
8. "FIFA World Cup 2014: Italy's Claudio Marchisio sees red against Uruguay". BBC Sport. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
9. "Luis Suárez suspended for nine matches and banned for four months from any football-related activity". FIFA. 26 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
10. "Luis Suárez banned for four months for biting in World Cup game". The Guardian. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
11. "Brazil in shock after World Cup humiliation". BBC Sports. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
12. "Marco A. Rodríguez se retira del arbitraje". 16 July 2014.
13. "¡Insólito! De árbitro de la Liga Mx a Director Técnico en España" (in Spanish). La Opinión. 17 August 2019.
14. "Chiquimarco destituido como entrenador del Salamanca tres días después de su llegada" [Chiquimarco sacked as coach of Salamanca three days after his arrival]. Marca. 24 August 2019.
15. "Marco Antonio Rodríguez, nuevo analista arbitral de TUDN". Récord. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
16. "Los cinco talentos de TUDN que sufrieron el recorte de la empresa". El Mañana. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
17. "¿Por qué le dicen Chiqui Drácula? – Ovación". aldia.cr. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
18. http://www.conpoder.net/marco-antonio-rodriguez-famoso-«arbitro-predicador»-internacional-mexicano/
19. "The World Cup referees – Part Two". Sporting Index. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
20. Suárez, Marlem (20 July 2023). "Exesposa de "Chiquimarco" denuncia el "terror" que vivió con él: golpes, nexos con la Unión Tepito y hasta violencia sexual". Infobae. Retrieved 13 June 2024.

External links

• FIFA profile
• Reuters profile

Preceded by Carlos Batres

FIFA Club World Cup final match referees 2007 Marco Rodríguez

Succeeded by Ravshan Irmatov

• 1973 births
• Living people
• 2006 FIFA World Cup referees
• Mexican football referees
• Copa América referees
• People from Mexico City
• 2010 FIFA World Cup referees
• Mexican Protestants
• CONCACAF Gold Cup referees
• CONCACAF Champions Cup referees
• 2014 FIFA World Cup referees
• Sportspeople from Mexico City