Károly Palotai (11 September 1935 – 3 February 2018) was a Hungarian association football player and referee. He was an Olympic Gold winner as a player before turning to refereeing. He was a referee at three World Cup tournaments and officiated in two European Cup finals. Playing career He was a successful player with Győri ETO FC and also won a gold medal at the football tournament of the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, when Hungary defeated Czechoslovakia in the final with 2–1. Refereeing career Károly Palotai was a referee in the FIFA World Cups 1974, 1978 and 1982, as well as in the European Championship 1980 and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. In addition, he officiated the finals of the European Champions' Cup 1976 between Bayern Munich and AS Saint-Etienne and 1981 between Real Madrid and Liverpool FC, the European Cup Winners' Cup final of 1979 between FC Barcelona and Fortuna Düsseldorf and the first leg of the finals of the UEFA Cup 1974–75 between Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Twente Enschede. References External links Referee profile at WorldFootball.net 1935 births 2018 deaths Hungarian footballers Olympic footballers of Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in football Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic football referees Hungarian football referees FIFA World Cup referees 1982 FIFA World Cup referees 1978 FIFA World Cup referees 1974 FIFA World Cup referees UEFA Euro 1980 referees Hungarian expatriate footballers Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Expatriate footballers in West Germany Association football midfielders Békéscsaba 1912 Előre footballers Győri ETO FC players People from Békéscsaba Freiburger FC players Sportspeople from Békés County