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In the next edition of ‘Men in Black’, we take a look at Italy’s top referee, FIFA Elite official Nicola Rizzoli.
NAME: Nicola Rizzoli D.O.B: 05/10/1971 (Age 43) NATIONALITY: Italian REFEREEING STYLE: Firm, authoritative |
On 7th April 2010, Rizzoli received the appointment of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Manchester United and Bayern Munich where Rizzoli sent off Manchester United player, Rafael, for a second bookable offence. In 2013, UEFA decided to appoint Nicola Rizzoli to referee the Champions League final which Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
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Nicola Rizzoli has also had a successful career at International level which started by refereeing qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. He was also selected to represent Italy in the Euro 2012 where he was appointed to two group games and also refereed the Quarter final game between Spain and France which Spain won 2-0.
The 2014 World Cup was also very successful for Rizzoli, taking charge of numberous games in including Netherlands v Spain. As Rizzoli performed very well during the competition he was appointed to the 2014 World Cup final which was won by Germany against Argentina. |