Sunday, 24 February 2013, ended in tragedy for one of the best Italian assistant referees of the new generation, Lorenzo Manganelli, 38, who is now in serious condition in hospital Di Ponte at Niccheri. Around 19:30, he was returning home along with his colleague Filippo Bercigli and their girlfriends, after a weekend of relaxtion. His car was involved in a terrible accident on the A1 stretch between Florence and Incisa. A terrifying encounter where four cars, for reasons yet to be determined, clashed in the chain. One of the occupants died instantly, while there were two seriously injured and five mild injured people. Among those in critical condition is Manganelli, who started an international refereeing career that took him to some of the most important matches of European football.
Manganelli (photo), who resides in Bucine, started his refereeing career in 2000. After four seasons in Serie D, he moved to Serie C as an assistant referee, followed by Serie A and B in 2007 and his debut in Serie A in 2008 during the match Torino-Livorno. He became an international assistant referee in January 2012. Manganelli started this year with a prestigious international friendly match, France – Germany. Recently, he worked with referee Paolo Tagliavento in two European matches: Valencia – Paris St. Germain, in the UEFA Champions League, and Steaua – Ajax in the UEFA Europa League. In the Italian championship, Manganelli has always been appointed for the most important matches, with 68 appearances in Serie A, including some classics like Milan-Rome, Inter-Milan, Juventus-Turin, Inter-Napoli, Roma-Inter, Lazio-Napoli and Roma-Juventus. Now, a bad car accident threatens to erase everything.
Source: La Nazione