Former Italian referee Sergio Gonella, who took charge of both FIFA World Cup final and UEFA Euro final in the 1970s, has died at the age of 85.
Gonella was promoted to Serie A in 1965 and became FIFA referee in 1972. He officiated the 1976 UEFA European Championship final in Belgrade, when Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany 5-3 on penalties after the two teams had finished level at 2-2 after extra time. He went on to referee the FIFA World Cup final in 1978, which saw host country Argentina beat the Netherlands 3-1 in Buenos Aires, also after extra time. After his retirement, Gonella became president of the Association of Italian Referees (AIA) between 1998 and 2000 and entered the Hall of Fame of Italian football in 2013.
Source: UEFA
