Kolina: “Let’s act and do something, before it’s too late and this cancer kills football”

The President of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina commented on the verbal and physical attacks received by the referees, on the occasion of everything that happened with the referee by its president Ankaragiuchou,

“It is the responsibility of all who love the precious game to act and do something before it is too late and this cancer kills football”commented o Colina after the referee was attacked by its president Ankaragiuchou.

While he continued by stating that: “He is a very good referee and a very good person. No referee deserves to live the experience he had in Ankara. The image of him falling to the grass, shielding his head with his hands while being hit and the bruise under his eye is horrific. But it is even more appalling to know that there are thousands of referees around the world who are verbally and physically assaulted. at lower levels of the game around the world without reporting to the media. They are unknown and the vast majority of them are young referees who are at the beginning of their careers.”

While the former referee concluded: “One cannot attack a referee for making a decision, even if it is wrong, nor can one suffer violent actions such as burning or bombing his car, which is not an exaggeration and happens in some countries not infrequently . After the IFAB annual meeting in London on November 28, I already said that verbal and physical violence against referees is a cancer that can cost football its life. As a former referee that I am, I am especially grateful to FIFA president Gianni Infantino for his words and the solidarity he has personally expressed to Halil Umut Meller.”