The head of the Ukrainian Football Association, Andriy Pavelko, said that he offered Nicola Rizzoli the role to train Ukrainian referees. According to Pavelko, his initiative to appoint Rizzoli should be supported by the UAF Executive Committee, which will be held on November 17. Rizzoli himself has already accepted the proposal of the President of the UAF. Italian Luciano Luci will remain the head of the UAF Referees Committee that he has chaired since 2015.
“Ukrainian referees will be able to gain knowledge and experience from one of the best referees of our time - Nicola Rizzoli. Today, the Italian specialist visited the House of Football together with the Chairman of the UAF Referees Committee Luciano Luci, whose contract was recently renewed, and our referees talked with Rizzoli about the prospects for our cooperation in the future. Rizzoli agreed to my offer to become the Head of Ukrainian referees, and, if this initiative is supported by the executive committee, whose meeting is tentatively scheduled for November 17, the UAF team will receive a new powerful strengthening soon. His high achievements speak about Rizzoli’s reputation in the refereeing world. Among other things, he was chosen as the best referee of the world, twice in a row. This means that, with the beginning of our cooperation, Ukrainian colleagues will receive wonderful opportunities for professional growth. I believe that they will successfully implement them. I am sure that the tandem of two such highly qualified specialists as Luciano Luci and Nicola Rizzoli will have a powerful impact for the further development of Ukrainian refereeing”, said Pavelko.
Rizzoli refereed the 2013 Champions League final between Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. A year later, he was entrusted with the World Cup final between the national teams of Germany and Argentina. Rizzoli has worked Serie A matches since 2002 and was recognized as the best referee in Italy seven times. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics has named Rizzoli among the top 10 referees of the 21st century. He retired in 2017 and then served as the head of the Serie A refereeing in Italy.
Source: The Times Hub
