Why did Pierluigi Collina retire?
Pierluigi Collina is a $4 million-wealthy Italian former football referee. Pierluigi Collina was born in Bologna, Italy, and earned a degree in Economics from the University of Bologna in the mid-1980s. A colleague suggested he take a refereeing course while playing football with a local team. He did, and he was particularly good at it…
Pierluigi Collina is a $4 million-wealthy Italian former football referee. Pierluigi Collina was born in Bologna, Italy, and earned a degree in Economics from the University of Bologna in the mid-1980s. A colleague suggested he take a refereeing course while playing football with a local team. He did, and he was particularly good at it almost immediately. After three years, he was refereeing major regional matches, then third tier national matches, before being promoted to first tier national matches after only three seasons.
He became a FIFA referee in the mid-1990s and went on to officiate at the Athens Olympics, the UEFA Champions League Final, and the 2002 World Cup Final, among other major events. After officiating at Euro 2004, he retired in 2005. However, his refereeing was not without controversy, and he was occasionally accused of being too tough on some teams and too lenient on others. He was also one of the few referees who escaped the 2006 Italian Football Scandal, which was led by Luciano Moggi.
Why did Pierluigi Collina retire?
In order to accommodate Collina for another season, the FIGC raised the mandatory retirement age to 46. However, a disagreement arose between the federation and Collina in early August 2005, as a result of his decision to sign a sponsorship deal with Opel (also advertising for Vauxhall Motors in the United Kingdom – both are owned by General Motors). Due to Opel’s sponsorship of Serie A club A.C. Milan, the deal was deemed a conflict of interest, and Collina was barred from officiating top-flight matches in Italy.
In response, Collina resigned, effectively putting an end to his career. The Italian Referees Association then attempted to reject his resignation, but he refused. He did, however, referee Soccer Aid charity matches in May 2006 and September 2008. Collina was involved in an awkward fall during the latter of these games and was stretchered off after 21 minutes of play. On June 6, 2010, he also officiated the first half of the 2010 Soccer Aid match.
