 | |||
| Full name | Kim Milton Nielsen | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1960-08-03)3 August 1960 (age 65) Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
| Other occupation | IT manager | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1975–2006 | DBU | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1988–2005 | FIFA–listed | Referee | |
Kim Milton Nielsen (Danish pronunciation:[ˈkemˈmiltn̩ˈne̝l.sn̩]; born 3 August 1960) is a Danish former internationalfootball referee. AnIT manager by trade,[1] Nielsen is noted for his impressive height of 1.96 m, making him taller than most players. Nielsen began refereeing at 15 years of age, as he wanted to know theLaws of Football.[1] A decade later, he began taking charge of Danish top-flight games, and he was awarded hisFIFA international badge in 1988 when he was still in his late 20s.
His career includes 154 internationals and 53UEFA Champions League games.[1] In 1993, he earned his first majorUEFA call-up for theUEFA Super Cup first leg betweenSV Werder Bremen andFC Barcelona. An appointment for a final followed the next year - the 1994UEFA Cup final first leg betweenSV Austria Salzburg andInter Milan.
Nielsen refereed theRussia-Germany match atUEFA Euro 96 in England, and followed this up with duty at the1998 FIFA World Cup in France. He took charge of two matches, including the clash betweenEngland andArgentina inSaint-Étienne, where he is remembered for sending off England'sDavid Beckham for kicking out at Argentina'sDiego Simeone after the Argentinian had fouled him. England went on to lose the match on penalties, and Beckham was blamed and vilified by the Englishtabloids for causing the loss as a result of his sending-off. He was noted as the newsmaker of June 1998 on theBBC website where he gave his thoughts about the match and Beckham's sending off.[2]
AtUEFA Euro 2000, Nielsen was put in charge of the Germany-Romania andTurkey-Belgium encounters, although the latter match ended in disappointment as he was forced out of the competition with a leg injury.[3] He was replaced byGünter Benkö. He got to officiate another prestigious match as he was named as the referee of2001 Intercontinental Cup betweenBayern Munich andBoca Juniors, which ended in a victory for Bayern after extra time.[4][citation needed] The2002 FIFA World Cup represented another milestone, as he officiated the semi-final betweenBrazil andTurkey.
He received another accolade after being appointed as the referee for the2004 UEFA Champions League Final betweenAS Monaco andPorto at theArena AufSchalke inGelsenkirchen. He was on duty inPortugal as one of the 12UEFA Euro 2004 referees.
After his performance during the2004–05 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals betweenPSV Eindhoven andOlympique Lyonnais, Lyon's presidentJean-Michel Aulas complained about different gifts and accolades Nielsen allegedly received from Dutch officials.[5]
In a2005–06 UEFA Champions League group stage match between Spanish sideVillarreal andManchester United, Nielsen showed a second yellow card, sending off Manchester United'sWayne Rooney for sarcastically clapping in his face after he had initially been shown a yellow card. 'Even sarcastic play is not allowed, the referee cannot accept that,' Nielsen said of his decision toBBC Radio 5 Live.[6]
In 2005, Nielsen reached the then-FIFA regulated age limit of 45. He ended his refereeing career on 16 May 2006, following the last game of theDanish Superliga championship.