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.^[1][2]

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Károly Palotai

Palotai in 1975
Personal information
Date of birth	(1935-09-11)11 September 1935
Place of birth	Békéscsaba, Hungary
Date of death	3 February 2018(2018-02-03) (aged 82)
Place of death	Győr, Hungary
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1953–1955	Békéscsaba Előre
1955–1956	Győri Vasas ETO
1956–1958	Freiburger FC
1959–1967	Győri Vasas ETO	171	(45)
International career
1963–1964	Hungary Olympic	15	(2)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Hungary Olympic Games 1964 Tokyo Team competition
Refereeing career Domestic Years League Role 1969–1983 Nemzeti Bajnokság I Referee International Years League Role 1970–1984 FIFA listed Referee
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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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.

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.

He is the father of Budapest DJ and co-founder of the radio station Tilos Radio, Zsolt Palotai.