Nicola Rizzoli

Nicola Rizzoli (Italian pronunciation: [niˈkɔla ritˈtsɔli]; born 5 October 1971) is an Italian former football referee who refereed in the Italian Serie A from 2002 to 2017 and was a FIFA-listed referee from 2007 to 2017.[1] He refereed the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina on 13 July at the Estádio do Maracanã[2] and the 2013 Champions League Final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium.[3] Rizzoli won seven consecutive AIC Serie A Referee of the Year Awards from 2011 to 2017.[4] On 18 February 2017, Soccer 360 included Rizzoli on its list of the top 5 referees in the 21st century.

Nicola Rizzoli

Rizzoli during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final
Born	5 October 1971 Mirandola, Modena, Italy
Other occupation	Architect
Domestic
Years	League	Role
1998–2001	Serie C	Referee
2001–2010	Serie A and B	Referee
2010–2017	Serie A	Referee
International
Years	League	Role
2007–2017	FIFA listed	Referee

Career

Rizzoli refereed his first UEFA Champions League qualifying match in August 2007 and took charge of his first Champions League group stage match, a 2–0 Sporting CP victory over Basel, on 1 October 2008. On 7 April 2010, Rizzoli took charge of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Manchester United and Bayern Munich. With the score at 3–1 to Manchester United (4–3 on aggregate), Rizzoli sent off their right-back, Rafael, for a second bookable offence. Bayern then scored again and won the tie on away goals.[5]

On 5 May 2010, Rizzoli refereed the Coppa Italia Final between Inter and Roma.[6] On 12 May, Rizzoli refereed the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final, as Atlético Madrid defeated Fulham 2–1.[7]

On 6 August 2011, Rizzoli refereed the Supercoppa Italiana Final between Milan and Inter.[8]

In May 2013, Rizzoli was selected by UEFA to referee the 2013 Champions League Final at Wembley.[3]

At the international level, Rizzoli served as a referee at UEFA Euro 2012[9] and officiated in qualifiers for the 2010[10] and 2014[11] World Cups. FIFA named Rizzoli to its list of 52 candidate referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.[12] Rizzoli was selected and was the head referee for a group stage match between Spain and the Netherlands. He refereed the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina on 13 July at the Estádio do Maracanã.[2]

Rizzoli was named the 2014 and 2015 World's Best Referee by IFFHS.[13][14]

On 15 September 2015, Rizzoli was in charge of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage match between PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United where PSV's Héctor Moreno broke the leg of Manchester United defender Luke Shaw. His decision not to show Moreno a red card for the tackle was controversial.[15] UEFA chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina reminded officials of their responsibility to player safety after the incident.[16]

In December 2015, Rizzoli was named one of the eighteen referees appointed for UEFA Euro 2016.[17]

On 4 July 2017, Rizzoli retired as referee, although eligible for one more year, and was appointed as the head Serie A designator.[18]

Personal life

When he was not refereeing, Rizzoli worked as an architect.[7]

Honours

• Serie A Referee of the Year (7): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017[4][19][20][21][22]
• IFFHS World's Best Referee (2): 2014, 2015[13][14]
• Globe Soccer Award for the Best Referee of the Year (1): 2014[23]
• Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2018[24]

References

1. FIFA. "Italy: Referees". Retrieved on 17 May 2013.
2. "Germany 1 Argentina 0". BBC Sport. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
3. "Rizzoli to referee UEFA Champions League Final". UEFA.com. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
4. "Oscar del Calcio, dominio Juve. Buffon: "Donnarumma ha doti da grande"" [Serie A Oscars, Juve dominate. Buffon: "Donnarumma has the characteristics to be great"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
5. McNulty, Phil (7 April 2010). "Man Utd 3–2 Bayern Munich (agg 4–4)". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
6. "Internazionale 1–0 Roma". Soccerway. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
7. "Nicola Rizzoli to referee Final". FIFA.com. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
8. "Milan vs. Internazionale 2–1". Soccerway. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
9. UEFA. "France 1-1 England". 11 June 2012. Retrieved on 17 May 2013.
10. "Match Report - Hungary - Sweden 1:2 (0:1)". FIFA.com. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
11. "Match Report - Republic of Ireland - Germany 1:6 (0:2)". FIFA.com. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
12. "Open list of prospective referees & assistant referees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup"" (PDF). FIFA.com. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
13. Robert Ley (5 January 2015). "THE WORLD'S BEST REFEREE 2014". IFFHS. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
14. "The World's Best Referee 2015". IFFHS. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
15. Taylor, Daniel (19 September 2015). "Referees' debate over tackle on Luke Shaw shows limits of technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
16. "Luke Shaw double leg break injury highlighted by ex-ref Pierluigi Collina". ESPNFC. ESPN. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
17. "Eighteen referees appointed for UEFA EURO 2016". UEFA.com. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
18. Riccardo Spignesi (1 July 2017). "UFFICIALE: Nicola Rizzoli designatore di Serie A, non è più un arbitro" (in Italian).
19. Gaetano De Stefano (4 June 2014). "Mondiale 2014, Rizzoli e gli altri: tutti gli arbitri brasiliani" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
20. "CALCIO, GRAN GALÀ AIC: PIRLO SI CONFERMA MIGLIOR GIOCATORE ITALIANO" (in Italian). La Repubblica. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
21. "Gran Galà del calcio, la Juventus fa incetta di premi" (in Italian). Il Corriere della Sera. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
22. Francesco Velluzzi (27 November 2017). "Gran Galà AIC: Buffon il migliore, tanta Juve e Napoli. E Sarri batte Allegri" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
23. "Nicola Rizzoli (BEST REFEREE OF THE YEAR)" (in Italian). Globe Soccer. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
24. "Totti, Zanetti e Allegri tra i premiati dell'8ª edizione della 'Hall of Fame del calcio italiano'" (in Italian). FIGC.it. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.

External links

• Profile at WorldReferee.com