Collina gets designator post
Thursday 19 July, 2007
Pierluigi Collina has been given the job of referee designator for Serie A and B for the 2007-08 campaign.
Collina was regarded as one of the world’s best referees during his distinguished career and was always strong favourite to claim the task of choosing the officials for next term.
The post of referee designator gained a raised profile during the Calciopoli scandal when it emerged that disgraced Juventus managing director Luciano Moggi had been talking to Paolo Bergamo and requesting certain officials.
“I know that there’s a lot expected of me, but I don’t want to be seen as the nation's saviour,” Collina told journalists after the announcement.
“There’s a big task ahead, but we have to think big. I want to use my experience from 28 years in the game to help the Italian Football Referees Association.
“I always try and appear calm, but I can assure you that I’m feeling very emotional at the moment,” the Bologna native concluded.
The appointment will be a blow to Moggi who was the sole voice to speak out against Collina’s candidacy claiming the 47-year-old had also been involved in conversations with directors of certain clubs.
The chief of Italian referees Cesare Gussoni - a strong advocate of Collina - also took the chance to talk about possible reforms including foreign referees.
“It’s something we should look into. There are teams in Serie A who don’t have a single Italian so I don’t see why referees have to be exclusively Italian.”
Football Italia
Thursday 19 July, 2007
Pierluigi Collina has been given the job of referee designator for Serie A and B for the 2007-08 campaign.
Collina was regarded as one of the world’s best referees during his distinguished career and was always strong favourite to claim the task of choosing the officials for next term.
The post of referee designator gained a raised profile during the Calciopoli scandal when it emerged that disgraced Juventus managing director Luciano Moggi had been talking to Paolo Bergamo and requesting certain officials.
“I know that there’s a lot expected of me, but I don’t want to be seen as the nation's saviour,” Collina told journalists after the announcement.
“There’s a big task ahead, but we have to think big. I want to use my experience from 28 years in the game to help the Italian Football Referees Association.
“I always try and appear calm, but I can assure you that I’m feeling very emotional at the moment,” the Bologna native concluded.
The appointment will be a blow to Moggi who was the sole voice to speak out against Collina’s candidacy claiming the 47-year-old had also been involved in conversations with directors of certain clubs.
The chief of Italian referees Cesare Gussoni - a strong advocate of Collina - also took the chance to talk about possible reforms including foreign referees.
“It’s something we should look into. There are teams in Serie A who don’t have a single Italian so I don’t see why referees have to be exclusively Italian.”
Football Italia
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