IK
FIFA
István
Kovács
REFEREE · 56 appearances
Romania · FRF · UEFA
Istvan Kovacs
⭐ UEFA Elite🌍 FIFA Badge
⚽Romania referee · 5 competitions · UEFA Elite Panel · FIFA International
Career Stats
5 comps56
total appearances
53
Referee
3
4th Official
1
AVAR
Domestic 0International 56
Season-by-Season Activity
'20/21
8
'21/22
9
'22/23
8
'23/24
2
'25/26
11
Referee4th OfficialAVAR
| Season | Total | Ref | 4th | AVAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 11 | 11 | — | — |
| 2023/24 | 2 | 2 | — | — |
| 2022/23 | 8 | 7 | 1 | — |
| 2021/22 | 9 | 9 | — | — |
| 2020/21 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | 18 | 1 | — |
Career Milestones
Career-firsts tracked in our database.
Match Activity
38 matches · 6 yearsRole:RefereeAVARNo match
🏅
Top 1% among Romania officials
Peer Benchmark
Match Count99%
Seasons Active88%
Competitions73%
Median in Romania: 7 matches · 2 seasons
Recent Matches
25Feb2026
Champions League
Paris Saint GermainvsAS Monaco
Referee
28Jan2026
Champions League
Borussia DortmundvsFC Internazionale Milano
Referee
21Jan2026
Champions League
GalatasarayvsClub Atlético De Madrid
Referee
11Dec2025
Europa League
Celtic FCvsAS Roma
Referee
14Nov2025
FIFA WC European Qualifiers
SLOVAKIAvsNORTHERN IRELAND
Referee
Most-Officiated Teams
Least-Officiated Teams
Clubs in their current competition, ordered by how seldom this official has worked their matches.
Each number = matches officiated involving that club · 0× = never officiated them
Frequently Works With
Rarely Works With
Active officials in Champions League they have shared fewest matches with.
- 1Jérôme BrisardVAR · 63 in leagueNever
- 2Stuart AttwellVAR · 62 in leagueNever
- 3Willy DelajodAVAR · 61 in leagueNever
- 4Tomaž KlančnikAssistant Referee 1 · 53 in leagueNever
- 5Andraž KovačičAssistant Referee 2 · 49 in leagueNever
- 6Carlos del Cerro GrandeReferee · 48 in leagueNever
- 7Clément TurpinReferee · 41 in leagueNever
- 8Nicolas DanosAssistant Referee 1 · 40 in leagueNever
Top Destinations
- 1Manchester5×
- 2Milan4×
- 3Kyiv3×
- 4Barcelona2×
- 5Belgrade2×
- 6Bruges2×
- 7Glasgow2×
- 8Liverpool2×
- 9St. Petersburg2×
- 10Zagreb2×
- 11Athens1×
- 12Bergamo1×
- 13Braga1×
- 14Copenhagen1×
- 15Donostia-San Sebastian1×
Venues Visited(29)
Every stadium Istvan Kovacs has officiated at, with the matches worked there.
ManchesterManchester
5 matches- 17/05/2023Manchester City FC vs Real Madrid CFFourth OfficialChampions League
- 26/04/2022Manchester City FC vs Real Madrid CFRefereeChampions League
- 05/04/2022Manchester City FC vs Club Atlético De MadridRefereeChampions League
- 15/04/2021Manchester United FC vs Granada CFRefereeEuropa League
- —Manchester City FC vs Real Madrid CFFourth OfficialChampions League
MilanMilan
4 matchesDynamoKyiv · Ukraine
3 matchesLiverpoolLiverpool
2 matchesBrugesBruges
2 matchesZagrebZagreb
2 matchesBelgradeBelgrade
2 matchesBarcelonaBarcelona
2 matchesSt. PetersburgSt. Petersburg
2 matchesGlasgowGlasgow
2 matchesCopenhagenCopenhagen
1 matchAthensAthens
1 matchDonostia-San SebastianDonostia-San Sebastian
1 matchLeverkusenLeverkusen
1 matchSofiaSofia
1 matchSlavutych-ArenaZaporizhzhya · Ukraine
1 matchPraguePrague
1 matchBragaBraga
1 matchBergamoBergamo
1 matchMoscowMoscow
1 matchMadridMadrid
1 matchMoldeMolde Stadion
1 matchVila-realVila-real
1 matchPortoPorto
1 matchLondonLondon
1 matchNewcastleNewcastle
1 matchValenciennesValenciennes
1 matchMunichMunich
1 matchOther Romania Officials
Career Events
FIFA World Cup 2026
United States, Canada & MexicoFIFA
FIFA WC 2026 Preselected Match Official Seminar
FIFA