Nicole Petignat (born October 27, 1966, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) is a Swiss former football referee.
Petignat is one of only few female referees to work in professional male football with matches in the first Swiss and Austrian Bundesliga league.
Her experience was also recognized when she became the first woman to referee a male UEFA Cup tie in 2003.
In July 1999 in Los Angeles she refereed the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup between the United States and China.
She controversially failed to penalise American goalkeeper Brianna Scurry for moving forward off her goal-line during the penalty shoot-out.