 Collina as head of referees for theUkrainian Association of Football in 2010 | |||
| Born | (1960-02-13)13 February 1960 (age 65) Bologna, Italy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Other occupation | Financial advisor,UEFA Head of Referees | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1988–1991 | Serie C2 | Referee | |
| 1988–1991 | Serie C1 | Referee | |
| 1991–2005 | Serie B | Referee | |
| 1991–2005 | Serie A | Referee | |
| 1992–2006 | Coppa Italia[1] | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1995–2005 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
Pierluigi Collina (Italian pronunciation:[ˌpjɛrluˈiːdʒikolˈliːna]; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian formerfootball referee. He was named "The World's BestReferee" by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003.[2]
Collina is still involved in football as an unpaid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association (AIA), the Head of Referees for theFootball Federation of Ukraine since 2010,[3] a member of theUEFA Referees Committee, and Chairman of the FIFA referees committee.[4]
Collina was born inBologna and attended theUniversity of Bologna, graduating with a degree ineconomics in 1984. During his teenage years, he played as acentre-back for a local team, but was persuaded in 1977 to take a referee's course, where it was discovered that he had a particular aptitude for the job. Within three years he was officiating at the highest level of regional matches, while also completing hiscompulsory military service. In 1988, he progressed more rapidly than normal to the national third division,Serie C1 andSerie C2. After three seasons, he was promoted to officiatingSerie B andSerie A matches.
Around this time, Collina developed a severe form ofalopecia, resulting in the permanent loss of all his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning the nicknameKojak.
In 1995, after officiating at 43 Serie A matches, he was placed onFIFA's Referees List. He was allocated five matches at the1996 Olympic Games, including the final betweenNigeria andArgentina. He refereed the1999 UEFA Champions League final betweenBayern Munich andManchester United; he cited this as his most memorable game because of the cheers at the end, which he described as a "lions' roar".[5]
In June 2002, Collina reached the pinnacle of his career, when he was chosen to officiate theWorld Cup final, betweenBrazil andGermany. Prior to the game, Germany'sOliver Kahn told theIrish Times: "Collina is a world-class referee, there's no doubt about that, but he doesn't bring luck, does he?" Kahn was referring to two previous high-profile matches that Collina had refereed which involved Kahn: the aforementioned1999 UEFA Champions League final, a 2–1 defeat for Bayern; and Germany's5–1 defeat againstEngland in September 2001.[6] Kahn's luck did not change in the final, and his team lost 2–0.
He refereed the2004 UEFA Cup Final betweenValencia andMarseille.UEFA Euro 2004 was his last major international tournament, as in February 2005, he reached the mandatory retirement age. His last international match wasPortugal againstSlovakia, a2006 FIFA World Cupqualifier atEstádio da Luz inLisbon.
TheFIGC raised its mandatory retirement age to 46 in order to accommodate Collina for a further season. However, a dispute emerged between the federation and Collina early in August 2005, following his decision to sign a sponsorship deal withOpel (also advertising forVauxhall Motors in the United Kingdom – both were owned byGeneral Motors at the time). As Opel was also a sponsor of Serie A clubA.C. Milan, the deal was seen as aconflict of interest and Collina was not allowed to referee top-flight matches in Italy. In response, he handed in his resignation, effectively ending his career. The Italian Referees Association then attempted to reject his resignation, but Collina persisted with his retirement from the league.
Collina attracted the ire ofLuciano Moggi, the Juventus executive and chief instigator of the2006 Italian football scandal. Collina was one of the referees that Moggi attempted to have punished for decisions that were made against Juventus. In an intercepted phone call, Moggi claimed that Collina and his colleagueRoberto Rosetti were too "objective" and should be "punished" for it.[7][8] As a result, he and Rosetti were two of the few referees that emerged unscathed from the scandal.
After retiring from Serie A, Collina refereed theSoccer Aid matches for charity in May 2006 and September 2008. During the latter of these games, Collina was involved in an awkward fall and was stretchered off after 21 minutes of play. He later refereed the first half of the 2010 Soccer Aid match.
His final competitive game was a Champions League qualifier betweenEverton andVillarreal on 24 August 2005. He announced his retirement soon after the game.
Collina was appointed head of referees for theFootball Federation of Ukraine since 2010.[3] His work in this position is criticised by national referees who disapprove of his lack of involvement in Ukrainian football (spending not more than two weeks per year in Ukraine) and possible tolerance towards corruption in the Ukrainian national football association.[9]
Collina was involved in the introduction and evaluation of thevideo assistant referee system for the2018 World Cup. During the tournament he pointed out the system's effectiveness[10] and later commented positively on its application.[11]
In 1988, Collina met his wife Gianna inVersilia. After living together almost from their meeting, they moved to the coastal town ofViareggio. Since their marriage, the couple have had two daughters. In 2003, Collina published his autobiography,My Rules of the Game (Le Mie Regole del Gioco). In August 2005, after his retirement, he concentrated on his own business, as afinancial advisor. Today he lives inForte dei Marmi.[12]
After refereeing the Second Round match betweenJapan andTurkey at the2002 FIFA World Cup, Collina became famous in Japan, and appeared in atelevision advert forfrozentakoyaki products. He is also very popular in Turkey, as no Turkish team, national or club, lost a game with him in charge.[13]
Although Collina is closely identified with football, his favourite sports club playsbasketball. He is a lifelong supporter of local clubFortitudo Bologna.[14] On 25 January 2010, Collina participated in a special match for supporting victims of theearthquake in Haiti between a team called "Friends ofZidane andRonaldo" andBenfica in Lisbon.[15][16]
In July 2002, he appeared in cartoon form inGeorge Michael's video "Shoot the Dog".[17]
In 2003, Collina appeared in an advert of a Turkish GSM operator,Aria, due to his popularity in Turkey.[18] In December 2004, he starred in a commercial forMB Pivo in Serbia, alongsideLazar Ristovski.[19] His quote in Serbian "Nema cekaj Lazo, daj MB pivo" (I can't wait no longer Laza, give me MB beer) is famous in Serbia.[20] He appeared in another MB Pivo advert two years later.[21]
Collina's easily-recognisable face (to followers of football) also led to his appearance in an advert for theVauxhall Vectra on UK television during the2006 World Cup. He also appeared in adverts forMasterCard andAdidas during the tournament.
Collina was chosen as the cover figure for the football video gamesPro Evolution Soccer 3 andPro Evolution Soccer 4, appearing alongside compatriotFrancesco Totti andThierry Henry for the latter. This was unusual, as football games had come to almost exclusively feature only players and managers on their covers, and he did not feature in either game. In addition, he featured as an "unlockable" referee in the rivalEA Sports gameFIFA Football 2005, released shortly beforePro Evolution Soccer 4.
| Date | Match | Tournament | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 August 1996 | Nigeria vsArgentina (3–2) | 1996 FIFA Men's Olympic Football Tournament Final | [27] |
| 26 May 1999 | Manchester United vsBayern Munich (2–1) | 1999 UEFA Champions League final | [28] |
| 30 June 2002 | Germany vsBrazil (0–2) | 2002 FIFA World Cup final | [29] |
| 19 May 2004 | Valencia vsMarseille (2–0) | 2004 UEFA Cup final | [30] |
Media related toPierluigi Collina at Wikimedia CommonsSporting positions Pierluigi Collina | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 1996 FIFA Men's Olympic Football Tournament Final Referee | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Champions League Final Referee 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 2002 FIFA World Cup Final Referee | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Cup Final referee 2004 Pierluigi Collina | Succeeded by |
