The legendary referee speaks of the respect enjoyed by Italian referees; also mentions the effect of extra officials on the players.
Pierluigi Collina is considered as one of the best referees the world football has had the pleasure of watching. The Italian had an illustrious career, spanning from 1988-2005, of which the last 14 years were spent as a top-flight
match official.
The former Serie A official has reflected that a lot of changes in the refereeing policies need to be adapted. After retiring from football, Collina was made head of the referees by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).
The UEFA chief has the responsibility of classifying the body’s procedural strategies and appointment of officials for European competitions.
The Bologna-born referee believes that the introduction of an extra referee in European competitions has had a positive influence on the game. He feels that players are aware that they cannot get away with negative antics due to
the “extra pair of eyes in the area from different angle”.
Switching his attention to the Serie A and the quality of Italian referees, Collina heaped praise on his countrymen, recognising the improvement that has come about in the refereeing standards in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926.
The 52-year-old was talking to the Radio anch’io lo sport, and mentioned,
“Italy has three officials in the elite category - [Nicola] Rizzoli, [Gianluca] Rocchi and [Paolo] Tagliavento, so the level of appreciation of Italian referees in Europe is very high.”
Even though Collina was happy with the progress of refereeing standards in his homeland, he insists that UEFA is looking to conduct refereeing programs in smaller countries, and promote their talent as well.
“The goal, however, that we are trying to achieve [at UEFA] is not about the make-up of a few major football countries. The objective is to find good referees, appropriate to Champions League and Europa League level, in less-significant
footballing countries,” said the UEFA chief.
The meeting to discuss all these issues will take place on 3rd March, where the Italian is hopeful of proving his point on the international front.
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