Carlos Batres

Carlos Batres

Carlos Alberto Batres González (born April 2, 1968 in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan football referee. He has refereed FIFA World Cup qualification and final tournament matches, and at Olympic tournaments.

Having refereed in FIFA since January 1, 1996, Batres conducted his first international match on October 27, 1996, a 1998 World Cup qualifier between Panama and Canada.

He officiated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, presiding over the Group A match between Denmark and Senegal and the second round match between Germany and Paraguay. He was also preselected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

On June 13, 2010, he refereed the match between Algeria and Slovenia, even though his mother had died barely four days before, on the night of June 9.

On June 20, 2010, he refereed the match between Italy and New Zealand, which ended in a 1-1 draw. New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert commented "some of the decisions were strange", and captain Ryan Nelsen also said the penalty kick he awarded to the Italians as "ridiculous". However, Italian coach Marcello Lippi contended that many of his players were elbowed during the match. In spite of the partisan complaints, Batres was retained for the later stages of the tournament.