 Rocchi in 2017 | |||
| Full name | Gianluca Rocchi | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1973-08-25)25 August 1973 (age 52) Florence, Italy | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2000–2003 | Serie C | Referee | |
| 2003–2010 | Serie B | Referee | |
| 2004–2020 | Serie A | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2008–2020 | FIFA listed | Referee | |
| 2010–2020 | UEFA Elite | Referee | |
Gianluca Rocchi (Italian:[dʒanˈluːkaˈrɔkki]; born 25 August 1973) is an Italian formerfootballreferee.
Rocchi became a referee in 1990 and officiated in 38 matches in threeSerie C seasons starting from 2000. He was later promoted to the higher series, making his debut inU.S. Lecce-Reggina Calcio (16 May 2004). In 2010, when the National Referee Committee for Serie A and Serie B split, he was assigned to Serie A's Committee.
He made his international debut on 26 May 2008, in a friendly match betweenNetherlands andGreece national under-19 football team. He was later called-up for European club cup matches (first for theUEFA Cup during the 2008–09 season, then for theChampions League during the 2010–11 season).[1]
He refereed three international matches during theUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, and later was called-up as referee for theMen's football tournament at 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[2]
On 18 August 2013, Rocchi refereed theSupercoppa Italiana Final betweenJuventus andLazio.[3]
On 6 October 2014, he was suspended for one month after aSerie A encounter betweenJuventus andRoma for poor officiating.[4] The match would later become known as the "Rocchi Horror Picture Show".[5]
On 21 May 2016, Rocchi refereed the2016 Coppa Italia Final betweenMilan and Juventus.[6]
In April 2017,FIFA announced that Rocchi had been chosen as one of the referees for the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.[7]
In July 2017,UEFA announced that Rocchi had been chosen to referee theUEFA Super Cup Final betweenReal Madrid andManchester United.[8]
On 29 March 2018, FIFA announced that Rocchi would officiate some matches at the2018 FIFA World Cup along with Elenito Di Liberatore and Mauro Tonolini as assistant referees.[9]
On 13 May 2019, UEFA announced that Rocchi had been chosen to referee the2019 UEFA Europa League Final betweenChelsea andArsenal.[10]
On 5 November 2019, Rocchi refereed the2019–20 UEFA Champions League group stage match betweenAjax and Chelsea.[11] Ending in a 4–4 draw atStamford Bridge, the match wascontroversial, because Rocchi issued twored cards and a directpenalty, sending off both Ajaxcentre-backsDaley Blind andJoël Veltman, while issuing a penalty forChelsea all in the same call.[12] His officiating later came under criticism in the press[13][14] and at UEFA.442oons, a successfulYouTube channel that makesanimatedparodies of football matches, scored a hit with their viral video 'Sent Off Two Men', a play onThe Weather Girls successful single 'It's Raining Men'.[15] Rocchi later reacted seemingly upset over the reactions to his officiating.[16]
Rocchi retired from refereeing at the age of 46, with his last match officiated being between Juventus andRoma on 1 August 2020.[17] In 2021, he was inducted into theItalian Football Hall of Fame.[18]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | UEFA Super Cup Final Referee 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Europa League Final Referee 2019 | Succeeded by |
