NO other referee or umpire in any sport has such an iconic global profile as the unmistakable Pierluigi Collina.
He was rare in football. With his distinctive looks – the bald head and the searing blue eyes – he was an official that commanded total respect and fear from players, with a no nonsense, authoritative approach that was equally unfussy and fair minded.
Named Fifa’s Referee of the Year for six consecutive seasons (1998-2003), he is considered to be the best football referee of all time – not only for his conduct on the pitch but for also bringing a whole new level of professionalism to refereeing.
Knowledge and unambiguous interpretation of the laws of the game was complemented by high standards of fitness, to keep up with ever quickening pace of matches for the full 90 minutes.
At 62 years old, he is still in impeccable shape; his navy blue three-piece suit tailored to perfection, oozing style and elegance that is in the DNA of most Italian men.
But what he also brought to the profession was attention to detail and fastidious preparation for matches. In Jersey for a corporate seminar this week, he told the audience how he would sit in his hotel room playing back hours of VHS tapes of the two teams he would be officiating, to understand the players’ characteristics and the tactics the teams would employ.
It was ground-breaking at the time. Now, it is the norm.
As the cliché goes, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail.’ He had even prepared for his interview with the JEP by researching my previous work.
Born in Bologna, Collina graduated from the city’s university with a degree in economics. But when he was just 17 he also embarked on a career that would progress through the ranks and eventually lead to fame, a Champions League final in 1999 and, ultimately, the World Cup final in 2002.
That fear of failure – and failing to prepare – ensured both of those high-profile games are remembered for the right reasons.
‘It was a huge recognition, not only as a referee,’ he said. ‘You are proud, honoured, it is a privilege, but it is also a responsibility because if you are there it’s because you deserve to be there and you must be up to the standard people think you able to perform.
‘If you fail in such an important match, this could affect your future.’
Despite a relative cult-celebrity status at the time (one that would lead him to grace the cover of the video game Pro Evolution Soccer 3, rather than one of the world’s top players of the day), unlike some referees, Collina never let his ego manage the game or command the centre of attention.
‘The referee is delivering a service to let the players play better and to make the show more enjoyable for everybody,’ he explained.
‘But on the other hand, I fully disagree with those that say that the best referee is the one no one notices. Imagine a referee giving three penalties during a match and not being noticed. At the end, the best referee is the one who takes those decisions correctly.
‘Fitness and knowledge of the rules of the game was for many years considered to be enough. I always had a different opinion and I am particularly glad that this change of mentality is now very popular.
‘I always thought that the worse decision that can be made on the field of play is to be surprised at something. If you are surprised by something it is very probable that your decision is wrong and if it is right, it is a matter of chance if you were not ready for something. You need to know in advance what is going to happen.
‘I always say that a referee has to be one step forward. He has to know before what is going to happen a few seconds later and this is only possible by knowing all the information about that specific match, not about football in general.
‘Every match is different from another one and so you need to know everything about that specific match in terms of team tactics. For example, do they adopt zonal marking or man marking? There is a huge difference.
‘If you are one step forward and you know what is going to happen then it is easy to focus your attention of the right place at the right moment.‘At this level you have to know everything.’
Two topics currently dominate the world of refereeing: that of the abuse they receive, particularly at grassroots levels; while at the other end of the spectrum, much of the debate centres around the use of technology and VAR.
Collina, who is now the chairman of Fifa’s referees committee, has long championed the use of VAR since it was first implemented six years ago, although he argues that officials should be prepared to only use the technology as a last resort.
‘The technology is assisting the referee in the field of play in the same way we are assisted by technology in our everyday lives,’ he says.
‘We realised that around the match, the referee was the only one who couldn’t use technology. Years ago at the stadium, people are looking at their device, almost live, at what had happened on the field of play. Everyone knows what happened but the referee. But the referee is the one who has to make the decision, so it is good for football and good for referees to be assisted by the technology.
‘I said before that refereeing a big final is an honour and a privilege, but if you fail in one of these games you are killed. So the technology is also something that helps the referee survive.
‘But the first goal is to get the referee so good at making a decision on the field of play that they don’t need the help of the technology. We work not to use it [but] technology for us in preparation of the match, in terms of the information we need, is crucial.’
Collina says that Fifa are looking at initiatives to practically implement more technology at lower levels of football – effectively a VAR-lite – that befits the competition in terms of size and budget.
However, at junior and amateur levels, technology is unlikely to protect referees from the decisions they make.
The issue of abuse towards the men and women in the middle has reared its ugly head once again and Collina admits this is a worldwide matter that needs addressing – particularly if the game is to attract a new young generation who can go about their task without fear or recrimination.
‘The problems do not exist in just one country. It is something affecting all countries. We are facing this trouble, these problems, particularly at the lowest level, youth level and amateur level. The referees are very often verbally abused, sometimes even physically against them and this is something that everybody involved in football has to take responsibility to do something.
‘I started refereeing at 17 and making decisions is not something you normally do at that age. You are surrounded by people making decisions on your behalf: mother, father, older sister or brother, teachers at school. Normally you are not responsible for your decisions.
‘On the field of play, you are alone. Many players are older than you and you are the one that is responsible for the decision. It is not easy.’
Collina is a role model for all aspiring referees. In the ultra-competitive world of Italian football he made his way to the top but it was a long journey to get there. It took 14 years after first blowing a whistle to kick off a local amateur game in Bologna to officiating his first Serie A game. Eight years after that, he would be at the Camp Nou, Barcelona, for Manchester United’s famous comeback victory over Bayern Munich that sealed a historic treble. He would then reach the pinnacle of the sport – refereeing the World Cup final in Yokohama, where Brazil beat Germany 2-0. In 2005, aged 45, he retired.
‘I’m lucky. It has been a privilege and a passion. I have been involved for so long and I continue to work in this field.
‘Sometimes I dream to be back on the field of play but, unfortunately, I wake up in the morning.’
