Sándor Puhl

Who is Sándor Puhl?

Sándor Puhl is a retired football referee from Hungary. He is mostly known for supervising four matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, including the final between Brazil and Italy.

He was elected as IFFHS' World's Best Referee of the Year four times in a row between 1994 and 1997.

He is a highly unpopular figure in Spain since the 1994 World Cup quarter-final between Italy and Spain, where he failed to see Mauro Tassotti elbowing Luis Enrique in the face, in the penalty box, during injury time. The impact broke Enrique's nose. Italy won the match 2–1, and Tassotti was later banned for eight games.

After retiring as a referee, he was Deputy Chairman of the Hungarian Football Association from 2000 to 2006. He has also worked as a co-commentator for a Hungarian sports TV channel.

Puhl speaks Hungarian, German and English.