Pierluigi Collina is an Italian former football referee.
22 Facts About Pierluigi Collina
2.
Pierluigi Collina was born in Bologna and attended the University of Bologna, graduating with a degree in economics in 1984.
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Around this time, Pierluigi Collina developed a severe form of alopecia, resulting in the permanent loss of all his facial hair, giving him his distinctive bald appearance and earning the nickname Kojak.
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Pierluigi Collina was allocated five matches at the 1996 Olympic Games, including the final between Nigeria and Argentina.
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Pierluigi Collina refereed the 1999 UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United; he cited this as his most memorable game because of the cheers at the end, which he described as a "lions' roar".
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In June 2002, Pierluigi Collina reached the pinnacle of his career, when he was chosen for the World Cup final, between Brazil and Germany.
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Pierluigi Collina refereed the 2004 UEFA Cup Final between Valencia and Marseille.
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Milan, the deal was seen as a conflict of interest, and Pierluigi Collina was not allowed to referee top flight matches in Italy.
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Pierluigi Collina attracted the ire of Luciano Moggi, the Juventus executive and chief instigator of the 2006 Italian football scandal.
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Pierluigi Collina was one of the referees that Moggi attempted to have punished for decisions that were made against Juventus.
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Pierluigi Collina later refereed the first half of the 2010 Soccer Aid match.
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Pierluigi Collina's final competitive game was a Champions League qualifier between Everton and Villarreal on 24 August 2005.
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Pierluigi Collina was appointed head of referees for the Football Federation of Ukraine since 2010.
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Pierluigi Collina was involved in the introduction and evaluation of the video assistant referee system for the 2018 World Cup.
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In 1988, Pierluigi Collina met his future wife Gianna in Versilia.
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In 2003, Pierluigi Collina published his autobiography, My Rules of the Game.
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Pierluigi Collina is very popular in Turkey, as no Turkish team, national or club, lost a game with him in charge.
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Pierluigi Collina is a lifelong supporter of local club Fortitudo Bologna.
19.
On 25 January 2010, Pierluigi Collina participated in a special match for supporting victims of the earthquake in Haiti between a team called "Friends of Zidane and Ronaldo" and Benfica in Lisbon.
20.
Pierluigi Collina was chosen as the cover figure for the football video games Pro Evolution Soccer 3 and Pro Evolution Soccer 4, appearing alongside compatriot Francesco Totti and Thierry Henry for the latter.
21.
Pierluigi Collina appeared in adverts, for MasterCard and Adidas during the tournament.
22.
In 2006, Pierluigi Collina appeared in another television advert, this time for MB Pivo, a beer brand in Serbia.