Olatz Rivera Olmedo (born 7 October 1996) is a Spanish football referee from Bilbao who officiates in the Liga F, Spain's women's top division.[1] A UEFA Elite and FIFA international referee, she was promoted to UEFA's Elite category in December 2024,[2] making Spain one of only four countries, alongside Portugal, Italy and Romania, to have two women in that category.[3] She has refereed two Supercopa de España Femenina finals, the 2026 Copa de la Reina final, a UEFA Women's Euro 2025 group match and the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup final, and in 2026 she became the second woman to officiate in Spanish men's professional football.[4]
 Rivera at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup | |||
| Full name | Olatz Rivera Olmedo | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
7 October 1996 Bilbao, Spain | ||
| Other occupation | Computer engineer | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2017–present | Liga F | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2022–present | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Early life and refereeing beginnings
editRivera was born in Bilbao, in the Basque province of Biscay, on 7 October 1996. She played football before turning to officiating and took up refereeing as a teenager, making her debut in the women's top flight at about the age of 20; she gave up playing once she was promoted to that level. Away from the pitch she trained as a computer engineer and competes in triathlon.[5]
Women's football
editRivera reached the top category of Spanish women's football in 2017 and became a UEFA international referee in 2022, joining the body's second international category.[6] With her promotion to the UEFA Elite category in December 2024 she joined Marta Huerta de Aza among Spain's elite officials, having belonged to UEFA's second international tier since 2022.[7] She has also officiated league Clásicos between Barcelona and Real Madrid.[8]
Her first Supercopa de España final came in 2024, when Barcelona beat Levante UD 7-0.[9] On 26 January 2025 she refereed her second Supercopa final, between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque in Leganés; it was her fourth Clásico since reaching the elite.[10]
In May 2026 the Technical Committee of Referees chose Rivera to officiate the Copa de la Reina final between Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, the first Copa de la Reina final of her career; Marta Huerta de Aza acted as fourth official.[11]
International appointments
editRivera made her debut at a senior international tournament at UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Switzerland, where she was appointed to the Group C match between Poland and Denmark.[12] She was accompanied by assistant referee Eliana Fernández, with Guillermo Cuadra Fernández on the video assistant referee.[13] The match was described in the Spanish press as a milestone for the presence of women in international refereeing.[14]
Later that year, FIFA designated Rivera to referee the final of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, again with Eliana Fernández as her assistant.[15] The final, played on 8 November 2025, was contested by North Korea and the Netherlands.[16]
Men's football
editRivera also officiates in men's football. She made her debut in the Segunda Federación in 2023 and reached the Primera Federación in 2024, where she became the first woman to referee an official first-team match of CD Tenerife.[17] In June 2026 she was promoted to the Segunda División, becoming only the second woman to officiate in Spanish men's professional football, after Marta Huerta de Aza.[18]
Honours and recognition
editRivera was named best female referee of the year at Marca's women's sport awards (Premios del Deporte Femenino) in 2023, the second time she received the distinction; that same year she had also been recognised as the best Liga F referee of the season at the Vicente Acebedo Awards given by the Spanish Football Federation's Technical Committee of Referees.[19]
References
edit- ↑ "La colegiada bilbaina Olatz Rivera dirigirá la final de Copa entre Barça y Atlético de Madrid" [Bilbao referee Olatz Rivera will officiate the Cup final between Barça and Atlético de Madrid]. Naiz (in Spanish). 11 May 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "La árbitra Olatz Rivera Olmedo asciende a la categoría UEFA Élite" [Referee Olatz Rivera Olmedo is promoted to the UEFA Elite category]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 20 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera Olmedo asciende a la categoría UEFA Élite" [Olatz Rivera Olmedo is promoted to the UEFA Elite category]. COPE (in Spanish). 20 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Un nuevo árbitro vizcaino para la Primera División" [A new Biscayan referee for the First Division]. Deia (in Spanish). 23 June 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera: el arbitraje femenino español se abre camino" [Olatz Rivera: Spanish women's refereeing makes its way]. Yo Soy Noticia (in Spanish). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Rivera Olmedo arbitrará la final Barcelona-Real Madrid, con Huerta de Aza en el VAR" [Rivera Olmedo will referee the Barcelona–Real Madrid final, with Huerta de Aza on VAR]. Infobae (in Spanish). 24 January 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "La internacional Olatz Rivera Olmedo se incorpora a la categoría élite de UEFA" [International referee Olatz Rivera Olmedo joins UEFA's elite category]. Infobae (in Spanish). 20 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera Olmedo, árbitra del Clásico Femenino" [Olatz Rivera Olmedo, referee of the women's Clásico]. Iusport (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "El Levante UD se ve superado por el FC Barcelona (7-0) en la final de la Supercopa Femenina" [Levante UD are overcome by FC Barcelona (7-0) in the women's Supercopa final]. Levante UD (in Spanish). 20 January 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Vivimos con Olatz Rivera la previa a la final de la Supercopa" [We experience the build-up to the Supercopa final with Olatz Rivera]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera, árbitra de la final de la Copa de la Reina" [Olatz Rivera, referee of the Copa de la Reina final]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 11 May 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera debutará en la Eurocopa con el Polonia - Dinamarca" [Olatz Rivera will make her European Championship debut with Poland–Denmark]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "La árbitra española Olatz Rivera debutará en la Eurocopa de Suiza con el Polonia - Dinamarca" [Spanish referee Olatz Rivera will make her debut at the Switzerland Euro with Poland–Denmark]. Infobae (in Spanish). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera debuta en la Eurocopa dirigiendo el Polonia-Dinamarca" [Olatz Rivera debuts at the Euro officiating Poland–Denmark]. El Independiente (in Spanish). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "La árbitra española Olatz Rivera, designada por FIFA para dirigir la final del Mundial Sub-17 femenino" [Spanish referee Olatz Rivera designated by FIFA to officiate the women's U-17 World Cup final]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 6 November 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "La española Olatz Rivera arbitrará la final del Mundial Femenino sub-17 en Marruecos" [Spaniard Olatz Rivera will referee the women's U-17 World Cup final in Morocco]. Infobae (in Spanish). 6 November 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera Olmedo, primera mujer que arbitrará un partido oficial del Tenerife" [Olatz Rivera Olmedo, the first woman to referee an official Tenerife match]. elDiario.es (in Spanish). 14 November 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ Sánchez, Pablo (22 June 2026). "Los cuatro árbitros señalados por la RFEF que descienden a Segunda" [The four referees marked by the RFEF who drop to the Second Division]. ElDesmarque (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Olatz Rivera, mejor árbitra del año según el diario deportivo Marca" [Olatz Rivera, best referee of the year according to the sports daily Marca]. Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.