Some big games this week, and some equally big refereeing names to officiate. Because there is so much going on, I’m trying a slightly different format for this post. CSKA Moskva – FC Bayern München Referee: William Collum (SCO) Assistant Referee 1: William Conquer (SCO) Assistant Referee 2: Graham Chambers (SCO) Collum’s actually been called on by UEFA quite a
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The Italians are basically entering their second week of play after the international break. As I’ve mentioned before, the addition of added referees on the goal lines means the center referees “rotate” more than you see in England, so World Cup Final referee Nicola Rizzoli (above) will only feature as an add at Lazio this week. There is an interesting article
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Ah, Italia! The Serie A season kicks off this weekend, and as always, there’s plenty of refereeing eye candy to go around. One note about Serie A: Unlike English Premier League, Serie A employs “additional referees” – two referees at either goal line – to assist the center referee. These men are usually center referees themselves, which means that Serie
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They’re back! In case you didn’t get enough of Dr. Dreamy and Mr. Smooth in the World Cup, the boys are back in town. That’s right, there will be playoffs for Champions League spots across Europe on Tuesday, and some of UEFA’s top referees will be in the middle. Chief amongst them will be The Man Himself, Nicola Rizzoli of
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You know what? I thought Nicola Rizzoli was great. He took control of this match right from the start and never relinquished it. He was fair, communicated well and gave an air of confidence that you just can’t fake. He owes a lot of his success – in this game in particular – to his outstanding ARs, Renato Faverani and
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Yes. He did see himself on the big screen and then fix his hair. … What? The guy’s gotta look good…
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To get us all warmed up for Nicola Rizzoli’s performance as the World Cup Final referee, I present to you proof positive that there are people out there more obsessed with referees than me. You don’t even have to speak Italian to appreciate the sheer awesome of this: Yes, bitches, that’s a tribute song!! Not some silly video of still photos
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The referee for the final match of the 2014 World Cup is Nicola Rizzoli of Italy. He will be assisted by his longtime team, Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani, both also of Italy. Carlos Vera of Ecuador will be the fourth official, which I must say is a big appointment for him. I, personally, could not be more thrilled or less surprised.
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The refereeing performances on this second day of the quarterfinals were sure better than the first. Nicola Rizzoli (Italy), Argentina v. Belgium This is the second time Rizzoli (above) has had to step into the breach after a particularly rough outing for another referee. He followed Yuichi Nishimura’s opening day performance, and today he followed arguably one of the worst
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The last two quarterfinal referees have been named for Saturday, July 5: Nicola Rizzoli of Italy (above) and Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan. I’m both pleased and sad at the Rizzoli appointment; pleased because it’s a good appointment, and sad because this means he’s out of the final. But I’m not surprised; quite frankly, though he’s been good, this isn’t the
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 