Kevin Azzopardi
Tall, slim and impeccably dressed, Stefano Farina exudes an aura of authority and composure as he talks about his refereeing career and his current role as head of the Lega Pro (Serie C) match officials in Italy.
For many years, Farina was regarded as one of the leading officials in Italy and Europe.
It is testament to his excellent reputation that, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 45, the Italian referees association (AIA) gave Farina a concession to continue for two more years.
It was his love for football that induced Farina to pursue a refereeing career when he was still a teenager.
“I played football until I was 17,” Farina, who was in Malta recently, told The Times.
“After a discussion with the coach, I decided to take up refereeing. I had one objective in mind... I wanted to surpass the level where this coach was working. At the time, he was training a team in Eccellenza (fifth grade of Italian football).”
Farina has officiated many high-profile matches but singled out the 2006 UEFA Super Cup clash between Barcelona and Sevilla as the highlight of his career.
“I have many fond memories,” Farina reminisced.
“The best moment was when I refereed the 2006 UEFA Super Cup final in Monte Carlo between Barcelona and Sevilla.”
Farina’s voice softened when he recalled the saddest moment of his career.
“The most difficult episode was the derby between Catania and Palermo when Filippo Raciti lost his life,” Farina said.
“That was a particular moment... you feel impotent, powerless in the face of a very difficult situation.”
Raciti was a police officer who was killed in violent clashes at the end of the Catania-Palermo derby on February 2, 2007.
Refereeing is not for the weak as they are often targeted for verbal, at times also physical, abuse by disgruntled players and fans while their performances are dissected by the media.
The pressures are even greater when you’re refereeing in a top footballing country like Italy where the game is a national obsession.
“In Italy, it’s difficult to be a ref,” Farina said.
“The difference from other countries, in Europe and all over the world, is that the referee, through the newspapers and television, becomes the protagonist even if he doesn’t want to.
“In our country, the referee is under scrutiny before, during and after the game. It’s clear that, to officiate in the Serie A, you must have an inner strength to help you cope with all the pressures.”
The image of Italian refereeing was tarnished by the calciopoli scandal in the summer of 2006.
A host of clubs and officials were punished after being found guilty of rigging games by influencing referees’ appointments.
While admitting that calciopoli sullied the reputation of Italian referees, Farina believes that the experience served as an eye-opener.
“The scandal in 2006 was a very hard period for our association,” Farina said.
“Because of the irresponsible behaviour of some referees who didn’t conduct themselves in an exemplary manner, we (referees) found ourselves in the middle of this fiasco.
“Today, the situation is under control, thanks also to the work of the president of our association, Marcello Nicchi. We are moving in the right direction.
“Lessons have been learnt and I’m glad to say that in the last scandal, calcioscommesse, no re-feree was implicated.”
On his retirement in 2009, Farina needed no persuading to stay in the game and a year later, he was nominated head of the commission responsible for officials in the Lega Pro and UEFA referees observer.
“In 2009, I quit refereeing but thanks to Nicchi and the National Referees Commission who believed in me, I started to work as a referees’ official,” Farina said.
“My first experience was as head of referees for Serie D which com-prised 680 officials.
“This year, my third as an official, I’m in charge of the Lega Pro referees. I have four assistants and together we oversee 378 match officials. Every year, we have to select five referees and seven assistants to promote to Serie B.
“If we judge wrongly there will be no good officials in future.”
Farina pointed at the per-formances of referee Nicola Rizzoli and his team at Euro 2012 as evidence of the high levels of Serie A officials.
“We have good refs in Serie A,” Farina said.
“The test was passed recently as the Italian refereeing team, led by (Nicola) Rizzoli, gave a good account of themselves at Euro 2012.
“As a whole, the level of re-fereeing at the European Cham-pionships reflected the great work of Pierluigi Collina and his collaborators at the helm of the UEFA referees’ section.”
Video technology
Calls on UEFA and FIFA to intro-duce goal-line technology have increased in recent years.
Two systems, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, were approved by the International FA Board (IFAB) last month. The systems will be intro-duced at FIFA’s Club World Cup in Japan in December with each sys-tem in one of the two stadiums.
Although football purists have been steadfast in their opposition to the use of video technology, Farina welcomed the IFAB decision.
“I believe that, what IFAB have decided is very important, “ he said.
“Every country will have the possibility to choose what to use. At last, we’re going to help the referees in situations that are humanly impossible to control.
“I am also happy with the intro-duction of additional assistant referees behind the goal-line. Their contribution is important as it helps to prevent certain episodes, es-pecially in the penalty box.”
Farina was in Malta to give a talk to local referees and match ob-servers during the first instructional meeting for season 2012/13.
His participation came about after Farina met Antoine Portelli, the MFA treasurer and UEFA delegate, during a European game last season.
“The invitation came from Antoine Portelli. He’s an esteemed UEFA delegate and we had the opportunity to work together before,” Farina said.
“The Malta FA, via the FIGC, requested my participation in a meeting for Maltese referees. It’s with immense pleasure, that I accepted and I’m honoured to have been asked to contribute.”