Former top Italian referee Roberto Rosetti has resigned as head of the Russian referees department citing family reasons, the domestic football union (RFU) president said on Tuesday. Rosetti, who was named best referee in Serie A four times in a row between 2006 and 2009 and officiated the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany, was hired by the RFU in 2011 in a bid to improve refereeing standards in Russia. "We received a request from Roberto Rosetti to release him from his post due to family reasons," RFU's president Nikolai Tolstykh told reporters. His contract was due in 2015.
Rosetti, who retired after the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, expressed his special thanks to the Russian soccer authorities and all the referees in a statement, published on the RFU's web site. "I chose Russia because I wanted to do something completely new, I was looking for a new challenge after officiating for 27 years in Italy," the 46-year-old said. "My mission is accomplished and my family also needs me at this moment. The refereeing has improved during my stay. The Russian officials are on the right track and I'm sure they'll have a great future".
Last year, Rosetti said that the officiating level at the matches of the Russian Premier League was unsatisfactory and the entire refereeing system in Russia needs a radical overhaul. "There are only 3,000 professional referees in the huge country of Russia", Rosetti said. "It's too few. Russia needs much, much more referees to have a variety of the officials to choose from in every division." Rosetti added that Italy's refereeing corps counted more than 32,000 officials, while England had a choice of 38,000 referees. He said that the referees in Russia were under constant pressure with almost every official's mistake in the match of the Premier League becoming the cause of a serious scandal. "There are too few referees in Russia, it's a fact," Rosetti said. "Besides, the officials here are humiliated after the slightest mistake. It's absolutely impossible that a child would dream to become a referee here in Russia”.
Source: Yahoo / NDTV Sports
Last year, Rosetti said that the officiating level at the matches of the Russian Premier League was unsatisfactory and the entire refereeing system in Russia needs a radical overhaul. "There are only 3,000 professional referees in the huge country of Russia", Rosetti said. "It's too few. Russia needs much, much more referees to have a variety of the officials to choose from in every division." Rosetti added that Italy's refereeing corps counted more than 32,000 officials, while England had a choice of 38,000 referees. He said that the referees in Russia were under constant pressure with almost every official's mistake in the match of the Premier League becoming the cause of a serious scandal. "There are too few referees in Russia, it's a fact," Rosetti said. "Besides, the officials here are humiliated after the slightest mistake. It's absolutely impossible that a child would dream to become a referee here in Russia”.
Source: Yahoo / NDTV Sports