Referee for Final

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Rizzoli to referee Hamburg showdown

Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli will take charge of the first UEFA Europa League final as Club Atlético de Madrid and Fulham FC meet at the Hamburg Arena on Wednesday (kick-off 20.45 CET).

Rizzoli, who is 39, has been an international referee since 2007 and has officiated at a total of 28 UEFA matches in his refereeing career. At the final in Hamburg, he will be assisted by his countrymen Cristiano Copelli and Luca Maggiani. The fourth official will be Gianluca Rocchi.

The referee team will be complemented by two additional assistant referees, Paolo Taglievanto and Andrea De Marco, also from Italy. This continues the experiment with two additional assistant referees which has taken place at every UEFA Europa League match since the beginning of the current season.

Rizzoli has handled eight UEFA Champions League matches since the beginning of the current season, including, among others, the quarter-final return leg between Manchester United FC and FC Bayern München in Manchester and the knockout round return leg between Real Madrid CF and Olympique Lyonnais in Madrid.

Born in the Italian town of Mirandola in October 1971, Rizzoli is an architect by profession. He was promoted to the refereeing lists for Serie A and B in 2001, making his top-flight debut the following year.

His major breakthrough came in 2006/07, when he took charge of some of Serie A's most high-profile fixtures, including a game between AS Roma and FC Internazionale Milano and derbies in Milan and Rome. By the end of that season he had become a regular presence as a fourth official in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.

http://en.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1486668.html#rizzoli+referee+hamburg+showdown

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Also found his stats from the last few matches:

http://uk.soccerway.com/referees/nicola-rizzoli/44754/

Looks pretty card happy, he was the guy who sent of raffael for Man Utd against Bayern. Lets hope we finish the game with 11 men!

[flynny]

I think its a result hes from a high standard league and not say denmark or sweden

[cebu]

I think its a result hes from a high standard league and not say denmark or sweden

I'd much prefer one from Denmark or Sweden. The Italian didn't impress in the manu/bayern clash.

[finnster01]

Lets face it, the last great referee on this planet was the bald Italian bastard Pierluigi Collini. Nobody argued with him. Including John Terry.

There have never been a decent ref since. Will this guy live up to that reputation or will he fold over like a piece of ice in Hawaii?

[AlFayedsChequebook]

how do you get madrid are italian team?

Through lazy stereotyping! :015:

[Fulham_Adam]

Lets face it, the last great referee on this planet was the bald Italian bastard Pierluigi Collini. Nobody argued with him. Including John Terry.

There have never been a decent ref since. Will this guy live up to that reputation or will he fold over like a piece of ice in Hawaii?

The one we had last time in Hamburg was a brilliant ref I thought.