Seeing a referee standing in the middle of the pitch getting teary-eyed is not a familiar sight.
Referees get more than enough abuse to warrant some on-field emotion, but when Italian referee Daniele Orsato wiped his eyes at the Parc des Princes in Paris last month, it was for another reason entirely.
Orsato had blown the whistle at the end of his 55th and final Champions League match. The 48-year-old, who became an international referee in 2010, is set to retire after Euro 2024.
What a game in which to bow out for the man who officiated 289 games in Serie A, starting with AC Siena versus Atalanta in December 2006. Orsato, who received a guard of honour from Fiorentina and Atalanta players in his final Italian top flight match last month, was highly praised for his running of a tireless Champions League encounter.
Orsato allowed the game to flow seamlessly as a Mats Hummels goal booked Borussia Dortmund a place in the Champions League final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain.
The biggest call Orsato had to make was when Ousmane Dembele was brought down by Hummels. Orsato pointed to a free-kick outside the box with instant conviction even though Dembele fell in the box. His decision that contact was made outside the area was backed up by the video assistant referee.
Atalanta and Fiorentina players honour Daniele Orsato after taking charge of his final Serie A game (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Orsato was refereeing at the World Cup in 2022 and after reffing two group stage games between Qatar and Ecuador and Argentina and Mexico, he was given a semi-final to lead. It was Argentina who prevailed as they defeated 2018 runners-up Croatia 3-0. After the match Orsato was branded “a disaster” by Croatia midfielder Luka Modric who was unhappy with his awarding of a penalty against his team.
Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic took out Julian Alvarez and Orsato pointed to the spot. Messi of course scored from the spot which gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute. The decision left a bitter taste in the mouth of Modric, now a six-time Champions League winner.
“Argentina were a fair winner of the match, they were better, they deserved to win but these things have to be mentioned,” the Real Madrid midfielder said. “I generally don’t do them but today they have to be done. I don’t like to talk about referees, but this is one of the worst. I don’t have a good memory of (Orsato), he’s a disaster. For me it wasn’t a penalty. Despite this, I don’t want to detract from Argentina. The penalty killed us.”
Orsato has plenty of experience taking charge of high profile games. In 2022 he was the referee as Bayern Munich secured their sixth Champions League title with a 1-0 win over PSG in Lisbon.
(Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
