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Football Referees are ready for a match. By Hayden Schiff

Top 10 Famous Football Referees of all Time

Do you ever consider the messy actions or chaos that would occur on the pitch in the absence of the Referees? Referees play an independent role to ensure discipline and justice during matches to limit all of this and have friendly and just matches. Most of the top and well-known referees have been assigned to officiate multiple matches in major leagues. These include the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and other governing bodies for the Africa Cup of Nations. They are numerous, but this article will only cover the most well-known and well-known in the world. Let us take a look;

1. Pierluigi Collina

Pierluigi Collina. Picture By Football.ua,

Collina currently serves on the UEFA Referees Committee and has been the Chief of the Football Federation of Ukraine since July 5, 2010. He changed his referee’s mind back in 1977.

Pierluigi Collina, an Italian former football referee, was a FIFA-listed referee from 1995 to 2005. He has been named FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” six times in a row and is widely regarded as the best referee in international football history.

Due to his distinctive baldness, Collina earned the name Kojak. Pierluigi, in 1995, was inducted into FIFA’s Referees List after officiating in 43 Series A matches. He officiated the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final between Brazil and Germany.

He also officiated the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Manchester United. The former referee is still honored as the referee of all time.

2. Pedro Proença

Pedro Proença. By Ultraslansi

Pedro is a Portuguese football referee who has established himself as the best referee of modern times. He is still an international football referee. He was the first official to officiate both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA European Championship finals in the same calendar year.

Pedro was named Best Referee of the Year by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2007 and 2011. This is after he became a FIFA-affiliated referee in 2003 and was named to UEFA’s Elite list in 2009.

Today he is remembered for officiating a great number of matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  

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3. Mike Dean

Mike Dean. Picture Courtesy of Brian Minkoff

When you mention Mike Dean, every football fan immediately thinks of this former English professional football referee who is now primarily a video assistant referee in the Premier League.

When it comes to football matches, he is known to be a no-nonsense man. The contentious referee was also known for being the top referee in terms of issuing the reddest cards.

On the other hand, Dean has officiated a number of notable matches since his appointment as a Select Group referee in 2000, including the FA Community Shield and the finals of the FA Cup, Football League Cup, and FA Trophy.

In 2000, he was appointed to the Premier League’s Select Group of referees, and he was later promoted to FIFA international referees. list in 2003. 

4. Frank de Bleeckere

He began refereeing in 1984 and worked as a FIFA-affiliated official from 1998 to 2012. Frank de Bleeckere was named Belgian Professional Referee of the Year seven times in a row.

And he did it between 2000 and 2013. He officiated at the FIFA World Youth Championship in 2003, the FIFA World Cup qualification in 2006, and the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 2005.

Only Belgian referee to officiate in seven World Cup matches. Bleecker officiated matches at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups. In 2012, he was also one of FIFA’s 16 “Refereeing Technical Advisors.”

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5. Kim Milton Nielsen

Every football fan will recognize Kim Milton Nielsen when his name is mentioned. His height was well-known. Milton, a former Danish football referee, was known for his distinctive 6 feet 6-inch height, making him taller than most international football players.

During his career, he officiated 154 internationals and 53 UEFA Champions League matches.

At the age of 28, he became a FIFA-affiliated referee for the first time in 1988. And he served until his retirement on May 16, 2006, when he reached the UEFA-mandated retirement age of 45.

Nielsen officiated in crucial UEFA Champions League and UEFA Euro Cup matches, including the 1994 UEFA Cup final, the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, and the 2005 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal. Aside from his refereeing, he also serves his duty as an IT Manager.

6. Michael Oliver

Michael Oliver. Picture By Manfred Werner

When it comes to referees who began their careers at a young age, Michael Oliver is at the top of the list. The English Professional Football Referee is a member of England’s Select Group of Referees and works primarily in the Premier League.

In 2012, he received his FIFA badge, allowing him to officiate major international matches. Oliver was named as the referee for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup final. In 2018, Oliver was promoted to the UEFA Elite Group of Referees.

Michael is the Wembley Stadium’s youngest football referee. In addition, he had already become the Football League’s youngest assistant referee, the Football League’s youngest referee, and the Premier League’s youngest fourth official.

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7. Markus Merk

Markus Merk. Picture By Reto Stauffer

Markus Merk, a former German football referee, is widely regarded as the best referee of his generation and holds the record for officiating the most Bundesliga matches.

He was named FIFA’s “Best Referee of the Year” three times and DFB German Referee of the Year six times in a row. In 1988, at the age of 25, he became the Bundesliga’s youngest referee. Merk also officiated football matches at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
He currently serves as the main referee commentator for the Turkish channel Lig TV, which broadcasts the Turkish Super League. He is a professional dentist in addition to his refereeing career.

8. Oscar Ruiz

Oscar Ruiz Acosta, a retired Colombian football referee, established himself as the best Colombian referee of all time. From 1995 to 2011, he worked as a FIFA-affiliated referee.

Acosta is now a member of FIFA’s referee instructor team. He also officiated in three consecutive FIFA World Cups, beginning with the 2002 FIFA World Cup and ending with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Ruiz was chastised after sending off Yoann Gourcuff in the final group-stage match between France and South Africa.

He served as a member of CONMEBOL’s referee assistance program after retiring from active refereeing. Aside from his football career, he is also a lawyer.

9. Michel Vautrot

Michel Vautrot, a retired French football referee, is regarded as one of the country’s best. However, during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, he made a hilariously funny decision.

In the semifinal between Italy and Argentina, he added 8 minutes of stoppage time. He later admitted that he had forgotten to check his watch. In addition to his international career, Vautrot officiated in three European Championships from 1984 to 1988.

The 1986 Euro Cup Final between FC Barcelona and FC Steaua Bucharest was also conducted by him.

He was named the World’s Best Referee by IFFHS twice in a row. He was heavily chastised after FIFA banned FC Roma for bribing him with £50,000. Roma, one of the wealthiest football clubs, did this prior to the 1986 European Cup semi-final.

10. Peter Mikkelsen

Former Danish football referee Peter Mikkelsen is widely regarded as the forefather of great Danish refereeing. During his prime, he worked as a FIFA-affiliated referee. Mikkelsen, then 30, officiated two matches at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

He officiated three more matches at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. Mikkelsen also refereed matches at UEFA European Football Championship tournaments in 1992 and 1996, in addition to international football.

Mikkelsen was named World’s Best Referee by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics in 1991 and 1993. After the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he announced his retirement from active refereeing.

In addition to his referring career, he worked for ten years in the Human Resources department of the Danish company F-Group. This referee died on January 30, 2019, after a long battle with cancer.