Juan Pablo Belatti
Argentine football referee (born 1979)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Juan Pablo Belatti (born 15 April 1979[1]) is an Argentine football assistant referee who is the most active assistant referee in FIFA World Cup editions, having taken part in Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022; he has also been selected for the 2026 edition.[2]
Saladillo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
| Born |
15 April 1979 Saladillo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Physical education teacher | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2008–present | Argentine Primera División | ||
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2011–present | FIFA listed |
| |
Belatti was one of the assistant referees in the final of Russia 2018.
Career
National
Belatti was born in Saladillo, Buenos Aires,[3] in April 1979, the son of a Luis Belatti and his wife Cristina,[4] Belatti has an older brother and a younger sister.[1] The family moved from Saladillo to La Plata when Belatti was less than two years old, growing up in the neighborhood of Tolosa.[2][1] He began his football career as a player, initially as a right-back and later as a left-back, a position he held until a serious fracture in his right leg forced him to retire.[1] In 2001, Belatti began his refereeing course, which was certified by the Argentine Football Association in 2003.[1][3] Belatti made his debut in the Primera División in 2008 at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in a match between Argentinos Juniors and Newell's Old Boys.[1] He has also refereed in Superclásico matches between Boca Juniors and River Plate.[3]
International
Belatti became international in 2011, when he made his debut in the Copa Libertadores in a match between CA Independiente and Godoy Cruz.[1] His most prominent performances include the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil,[5] the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia,[6] as well as two editions of Copa América: Chile 2015 and Brazil 2019.[7][8] Outside CONMEBOL, Belatti took part in the UEFA Euro 2020, accompanying referee Fernando Rapallini, and in the men's tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[9][10]
FIFA World Cups
Belatti has a record-breaking participation in the FIFA World Cup, beginning in Brazil 2014 alongside referee Néstor Pitana, with whom he worked again in Russia 2018.[11] In Russia's World Cup, Belatti was assigned as an assistant referee to several matches, including the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia,[12] a group match between Mexico and Sweden,[13] as well as a round of 16 game between Denmark and Croatia,[14] a quarterfinal between Uruguay and France,[15] and the final between France and Croatia in Moscow.[16]
He took part in Qatar 2022, and his most advanced game was a round of 16 match between Spain and Morocco.[17][18][19] In April 2026, Belatti earned his fourth designation for a FIFA World Cup, being chosen as part of the assistant referees of referee Facundo Tello.[20] Aside from his own record, Belatti is part of a record-breaking group of Argentine officials at the World Cup, which includes two other referees, Darío Herrera and Yael Falcón, as well as Hernán Mastrangelo as a video assistant referee.[21][20]
Personal life
Belatti resides in La Plata and is married to his wife Adriana, with whom he has three children: Francisco, Lucrecia, and Atilio.[1] He is a physical education teacher.[3]
He has taken part in campaigns against gender violence against women, working with a politician from Córdoba Province that he met in December 2008 during a football trip.[3] A referee who worked with Belatti, Patricio Loustau, said that Belatti did not take off a white bracelet that this woman gave to him, wearing it for two years.[3]