France vs Switzerland
Why does a referee from Argentina whistle at the European Championship?
Fernando Rapallini at the Euro 2021 quarter-finals between France and Switzerland
© Marko Djurica / Getty Images
Fernando Rapallini is the referee of the European Championship quarter-final between France and Switzerland. Like his assistants, he comes from Argentina. Why does a South American whistle at the European Championship?
No, there is no shortage of top referees in Europe. The Euro 2021 is also a highlight for the impartial of the continent, the best of the best pipes here. Among others, the Bundesliga referees Felix Brych and Daniel Siebert belong to the squad of the total of 19 European Championship referees.
In addition, non-partisan players from Romania, the Netherlands, Spain, England, Turkey, Sweden, Italy, Israel, Portugal, Russia, France and Slovenia are in action at the 51 tournament games. Also in the Uefa squad: Fernando Rapallini. He comes from Argentina and is therefore the only non-European among the European Championship referees: he was already in action at the group matches between Ukraine and North Macedonia and between Croatia and Scotland.
Why is an Argentine referee at the Euro 2021?
On Monday night, the 43-year-old was on the court as the game master in the quarterfinals between France and Switzerland, accompanied by his assistants Juan Pablo Belatti and Diego Yamil Bonfa, also Argentine.
But why does a South American whistle at the European Football Championship when there is no shortage of top staff here? Behind this is an exchange agreement between the European football association Uefa and the South American counterpart Conmebol.
“The exchange of referees with Conmebol as part of our flagship competitions offers added value for both tournaments and the wealth of experience of top referees,” said Uefa boss Aleksander Čeferin after the appointment of Rapallini in April. “Football in Europe and South America is characterised by high quality and a long tradition. This also applies to refereeing. This exchange is an integral part of our cooperation agreement and will help us to further improve our competitions.”
In return, the South American Federation uses the Spaniard Jesús Gil Manzano at the current Copa América 2021 in Brazil. Conmebol President Alejandro Domínguez was also pleased with the cooperation between the two associations: “We are convinced that cooperation with Uefa in this area will be of great benefit to both Confederations.”The goal:” To make the referees more professional and to train them perfectly in the use of technological aids.”
Rapallini has not done his job too badly so far. The trade magazine “Kicker” gave the impartial for the management of the two preliminary round games the marks 2.0 and 3.0.
Source: Uefa (1), Uefa (2), “Kicker” (1),” Kicker ” (2)
