Former referee Pierluigi Collina has officially been appointed as the man who selects referees for matches in Italy's top two divisions, Serie A and Serie B, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) confirmed on Thursday.
It is hoped the 47-year-old, famous for his bald head and bulging eyes and widely considered as one of the best referees of all time, will help clean up the image of Italian football after last summer's match-fixing scandal.
Collina, nevertheless, dismissed suggestions that he would be the saviour of refereeing in Italy. "I know that there are great expectations of me and I promise I will do my best," he said.
"It is very gratifying and a great honour to be given this responsibility. "But I am not, and don't want to be considered, as the saviour of refereeing. I only want to bring to the job my experience, my 28 years as a referee."
Collina, who took charge of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ final, retired from refereeing in 2005 and spent time as a financial advisor and a television pundit.
Alles in allem: Busacca, Rosetti und Larrionda werden das wichtigste pfeifen, rest ist uninteressant!
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