Pierluigi Collina
Encyclopedia
Pierluigi Collina is a former Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 football referee. He is still involved in football as non-paid consultant to the Italian Football Referees Association (AIA), and is a member of the UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 Referees Committee. Collina has been the head of referees for the Football Federation of Ukraine
Football Federation of Ukraine
The Football Federation of Ukraine is the governing body of football in Ukraine. It governs the football competitions for the Ukrainian Professional League, including the Ukrainian Cup, the Amatory, the competitions among the youth , and also the Ukraine national football team. It also sets the...

 since July 5, 2010.

Career

Collina was born in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 and attended the local university
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...

, graduating with a degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 in 1984. During his teenage years, he played as a central defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 for a local team, but was persuaded in 1977 to take a referee's course, where it was discovered that he had a particular aptitude for the job.

Within three years he was officiating at the highest level of regional matches, while also completing his compulsory military service. In 1988, he progressed more rapidly than normal to the national third division, Serie C1 and Serie C2. After three seasons, he was promoted to officiating Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

and Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

matches.

About this time, Collina contracted a severe form of alopecia
Alopecia
Alopecia means loss of hair from the head or body. Alopecia can mean baldness, a term generally reserved for pattern alopecia or androgenic alopecia. Compulsive pulling of hair can also produce hair loss. Hairstyling routines such as tight ponytails or braids may induce Traction alopecia. Both...

, resulting in the permanent loss of all his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning the nickname Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...

.

In 1995, after he had officiated at 43 Serie A matches, he was placed on FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

's Referees List. He was allocated five matches at the 1996 Olympic Games
Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The association football competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held in Birmingham, Alabama; Washington, D.C; Orlando, Florida; Miami, Florida; and Athens, Georgia....

, including the final between Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

 and Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

. He refereed the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...

 between Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....

 and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

; he cited this as his most memorable game because of the cheers at the end, which he described as 'lions' roar'. In this game he allowed three minutes of added time, as Bayern Munich led 1-0 with 90 minutes on the clock through an early Mario Basler
Mario Basler
Mario Basler is a German former football winger and current manager.- Career :...

 goal, only for two stoppage time goals to give the trophy to United in the Nou Camp
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....

.

In 2002, Collina reached the pinnacle of his career when he was chosen for the World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 final between Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

. Prior to the game, Oliver Kahn
Oliver Kahn
Oliver Rolf Kahn is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987...

 told the Irish Times: "Collina is a world-class referee, there's no doubt about that, but he doesn't bring luck, does he?" He was referring to two previous high-profile matches that Collina had refereed which involved Kahn: the aforementioned 1999 UEFA Champions League Final
1999 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1999 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on Wednesday, 26 May 1999. The match was played at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain, to determine the winner of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. The final was contested by Manchester United and Bayern Munich...

, a 2-1 defeat for Bayern; and Germany's 5-1 defeat against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 in 2001. Kahn's luck did not change in the final and his team lost 2-0.

In 2003, he published his autobiography, The Rules of my Game (Le Mie Regole del Gioco).

He refereed the 2004 UEFA Cup Final
2004 UEFA Cup Final
The 2004 UEFA Cup Final was played on May 19, 2004 at Gothenburg, between Valencia CF of Spain and Olympique de Marseille of France. Valencia won the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Vicente and Mista...

 between Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...

 and Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

. Euro 2004
2004 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...

 was his last major international tournament, as he reached the mandatory retirement age of 45 for FIFA referees early in 2005. His last international match was Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...

 - Slovakia
Slovakia national football team
The Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...

, for a 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 qualifier at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

. The IFF raised its mandatory retirement age to 46 in order to accommodate Collina for a further season. However, a dispute emerged between the federation and Collina early in August 2005, following Collina's decision to sign a major sponsorship deal with Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

 (also advertising for Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...

 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 - both are owned by General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

). As Opel was also a sponsor of Serie A club A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

, the deal was seen as a major conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....

 and Collina was disbarred from refereeing top-flight matches in Italy. In response, Collina handed in his resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...

, effectively ending his career. The Italian Referees Association then attempted to reject his resignation, but he persisted with his retirement. He did, however, referee the Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...

 matches for charity in May 2006 and September 2008. During the latter of these games, Collina was involved in an awkward fall and was stretchered off after 21 minutes of play. He also refereed the first half of the 2010 Soccer Aid match on June 6.

His final competitive game, a Champions League qualifier between Everton and Villarreal in August 2005, was shrouded in controversy as he disallowed a late goal by Everton that would have sent the game into extra time.[4] With Liverpool winning the previous Champions League final, no UEFA or Football Association rule gave provision for their entry into the following season's tournament as they had not qualified through their domestic league. Faced with the champions not competing UEFA changed the rules allowing Liverpool qualification. With England now competing with a possible, and irregular, five teams in the group stages this was known to cause consternation in the halls of UEFA headquarters. In the qualifying rounds Everton would go on to draw Villarreal, the toughest possible opponents. Over the two legs Collina was seen to favour Villarreal, awarding innocuous free kicks against Everton, continually breaking up their momentum. As Everton chased and scored an equaliser late in the second leg in Spain, it was seen by many as an error because Collina ruled that Duncan Ferguson had committed a foul in the build-up to the goal, but again there had been no infringement. Subsequently, UEFA had the maximum four clubs represented by any one country from England in the group stages, and despite being the start of the 2005/06 season Collina announced his retirement soon after the game.

Perhaps one of the greatest distinctions of Collina's career was earning the hatred of Luciano Moggi
Luciano Moggi
Luciano Moggi is an Italian football managing director. He was the general director of Juventus F.C. from 1994 until May 2006, years that anointed him as one of the most successful football managing director except the last two club seasons that were involved in Calciopoli...

, the Juventus official and chief instigator of the 2006 Italian football scandal. Collina was one of the referees that Moggi attempted to have punished for decisions that Collina made against Juventus. In an intercepted phone call, Moggi claimed that Collina and his colleague Roberto Rosetti
Roberto Rosetti
Roberto Rosetti is a former Italian football referee. He is fluent in Italian, English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received his FIFA Badge in 2002...

 were too "objective" and should be "punished" for it. As a result, he and Rosetti were of the few referees remaining unscathed from the scandal.

He was chosen as the cover figure for the popular video game Pro Evolution Soccer 3
Pro Evolution Soccer 3
Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is the third installment of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer football video game series...

(and subsequently Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Pro Evolution Soccer 4
Pro Evolution Soccer 4 is the fourth installment of Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer football video game series...

, alongside Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...

 and Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...

). This was unusual, as football games had come to almost exclusively feature only players and managers on their covers; in addition, he appeared as an "unlockable" referee in the rival game FIFA 2005, as well as not actually appearing in Pro Evolution Soccer 3 as a referee despite heralding the front cover of the game. His easily recognisable face (to followers of football) also led to his appearance in a 2006 Vauxhall Vectra commercial, which aired during 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...

 match adverts in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. He also appeared in adverts for Mastercard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...

 and Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

 during the 2006 World Cup.

Although Collina is closely identified with football, his favourite sports club plays basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. He is a lifelong supporter of Fortitudo Bologna
Fortitudo Bologna
Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna is an Legadue Basket professional basketball club that is based in Bologna. It's currently sponsored by Conad.-History:...

, one of Europe's leading basketball clubs. On January 25, 2010 Collina participated in a special match for supporting victims of the earthquake in Haiti opposing Friends of Zidane and Ronaldo and the Benfica team in Lisbon.

In 2010, Collina officiated the first half of a Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...

 charity football match between celebrity and professional players representing England and the 'Rest of the World'. Players included David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

, Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

, Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...

, Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail....

, Martin Keown
Martin Keown
Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal...

 and Nicky Butt
Nicky Butt
Nicholas "Nicky" Butt is an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and spent 12 years in their first-team before moving to Newcastle United in 2004. He spent one season on loan to Birmingham City in 2005–06...

 for England, managed and coached by Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

 and Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson
Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...

. Players for the 'Rest of the World included Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...

, Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...

, Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...

, Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

, Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...

 and Sami Hyypiä
Sami Hyypiä
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at...

, managed and coached by Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...

, Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...

 & Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison (football)
Eric Harrison is an English former football player and coach. He is probably best known for being the man behind the Manchester United youth setup that produced the group of players known as "Fergie's Fledglings", including David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.Harrison began...

. English Premier League and Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 referee Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg
Mark Clattenburg is an English professional football referee, who officiates primarily in the Premier League, and for FIFA. He is based in Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne...

 also refereed the match.
On July 5, Pierluigi Collina became head of referees for the Football Federation of Ukraine.

Personal life

Pierluigi Collina met his future wife Gianna in 1988 in Versilia
Versilia
The Versilia is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca, and is named after the Versilia river.Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebrities....

. After living together almost from their meeting, they moved to the coastal town of Viareggio
Viareggio
Viareggio is a city and comune located in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 64,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca.It is known as a seaside resort...

. Since the wedding, the couple have had two daughters, and own a Westie
West Highland White Terrier
The West Highland White Terrier, commonly known as the Westie, is a Scottish breed of dog with a distinctive white coat. The modern breed is descended from a number of breeding programes of white terriers in Scotland prior to the 20th century...

 dog called Wallace.

After his retirement in August 2005, he concentrated on his own business as a financial advisor.

Since he was the main referee of the Second Round match between Japan
Japan national football team
The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...

 and Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

, he became famous in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and appeared on TV commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

 of frozen
Frozen food
Freezing food preserves it from the time it is prepared to the time it is eaten. Since early times, farmers, fishermen, and trappers have preserved their game and produce in unheated buildings during the winter season. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning water to ice, making it...

 takoyaki
Takoyaki
is a popular ball-shaped Japanese dumpling or more like a savory pancake made of batter and cooked in a special takoyaki pan...

 products. He is also very popular in Turkey, as no Turkish team, national or club, lost a game with him in charge. He was also on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 3 which is made by konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...


Honours

  • IFFHS' World's Best Referee of the Year
    • Winner (6): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

  • Honorary degree: Doctor of Science
    Doctor of Science
    Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...

     (2004), awarded by Hull University "for his contribution to the world of sport".
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