Fernando Rapallini, the first non-European official in the Euros, dropped down on one leg ahead of kick off. But he was left in the lurch as footballers from both national sides remained standing at Hampden Park. Meanwhile the England team continued their anti-racism gesture before the match against the Czech Republic. But their opponents remained on their feet during the brief move ahead of kick off at Wembley.
Rapallini blew his whistle before taking the knee during the final Group D clash in Glasgow. Players from Scotland and Croatia remained standing and the 43-year-old quickly got back to his feet. The referee is the first non-European to take part in the European Championships and is from Argentina. He was born in La Plata, the capital city of Buenos Aires province, which has just under 1million people. Rapallini has been a FIFA referee since 2014 and took charge of his first international match when Chile played El Salvador in June 2015. He has been behind the whistle for some of the biggest finals in Argentina and is seen as one of the best in South America. He refereed the 2013 and 2018 Argentina Super Cups, the 2017 Argentina Cup final, as well as the 2019 Argentina Super League Champions Trophy. His role in Euro 2020 is down to an exchange program between UEFA and CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation. Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano went to South America to referee Copa America games during the summer. Before this match in Glasgow, Rapallini refereed Ukraine versus North Macedonia, which saw both sides win penalties and miss them.
Meanwhile, England players all took the knee as expected before their match against Czech Republic. Stars including Harry Kane, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka dropped down on one leg ahead of kick off. But their Czech Republic opponents tonight remained standing during the brief move.
Source: Daily Mail
