Three of the most prominent referees of the last decade have retired in recent weeks. Gianluca Rocchi from Italy, Milorad Mažić from Serbia and Mark Clattenburg from England have all ended their long and brilliant careers. Three referees who besides for a long time belonging to the very top-class of their profession, all stood for very distinct things on the pitch and will (and in the case of two - already have) be sorely missed in refereeing.
It's difficult to find exactly the right words, but two should be enough in the most succinct manner: thank you! There are more in this post which hopefully do justice to their three remarkable careers.
We start then with the man most recently involved in UEFA matches.
We hope you enjoy these short reflections on their long careers!
Gianluca Rocchi
Gianluca Rocchi ended his career Saturday before last in the Juventus - Roma match in the last round of Serie A fixtures for this season. A very emotional (and at moments, very funny!) evening for the entrepreneur from Florence!
He crowned an excellent international career with two fantastic achievements in his last years as a referee: three matches at World Cup 2018 and the Europa League final Chelsea - Arsenal in 2019. A nuance of his career is despite belonging to the UEFA Elite Category since 2010, he was yet often behind his compatriot, the star of 2010s refereeing, Nicola Rizzoli. If Rizzoli's premier event-management style was a look to the present and the future, then Rocchi was something of a hark back to the past.
Rocchi distinguished himself even in the modern era of FIFA officiating as a brilliant law-enforcer with his sharp and consistent style which AIA, UEFA and FIFA could depend on in the most important matches. It is testament to Rocchi that he reached everything that he did in his career, especially cognisant of when he did it. He showed that the value of courage is still appreciated at the highest level of world football, and that not only top-class managers like his compatriots Pierluigi Collina and aforementioned Nicola Rizzoli can arouse the respect and gratitude of football actors the world over.
UEFA Elite refereeing is visibly worse for Gianluca Rocchi's loss.
Thank you Mr. Rocchi!
Milorad Mažić
Milorad Mažic, it was announced Wednesday just gone, became the head of the refereeing operation at the Cyprus Football Association, thus ending his career as a match official. His last match was the Jiangsu Suning - Tianjin Tianhai game, in Chinese Super League, where he spent his last year as a referee. The coronavirus pandemic forced the CFA's hand vis-à-vis foreign referees; Mažić and Clattenburg were to retire.
Mažić's supercilious leadership style, hectic gestures and brilliant movement combined with a lenient approach and two excellent assistant referees, Milovan Ristić and Dalibor Đurđević gave him a very characteristic style that could succeed in even the most intense matches. His rise was remarkable too - in the same (2012/32) season did he have his Champions League début than he refereed a Europa League semifinal - all whilst being only in the Elite Development Category - and despite not being on the pre-list he attended Brazil 2014. He went also to EURO 2016 and World Cup 2018, and in the interceding period refereed the Champions League final Real Madrid - Liverpool the same year as his second World Cup.
That being said, Mažić stood for something more than excellent refereeing in his own nation (as administrators of The Third Team and Law 5 alike can stand testament to!); he was a form of national pride in Serbia. His presence in the top football matches both in Europe and over the world and brilliantly touched on a lot of feeling in Serbia and their perceived place in the global order and justifiably aroused huge respect from his compatriots, even whilst handling the ultra-polarising Večiti derbi at home.
All sociological case studies aside - Milorad Mažić leaves behind an excellent career with a lot of fantastic memories for refereeing fans.
Thank you Mr. Mažić!
Mark Clattenburg
Without any doubt, Mark Clattenburg was the referee of the year 2016 and arguably the referee of the second part of the last decade. He ended his career last Wednesday with the announcement that he was to head the Hellenic Football Federation's refereeing operation. At any rate at all, refereeing the FA Cup final, Champions League final and the EURO 2016 final all in a matter of weeks was a simply formidable achievement - but perhaps that is not even the most notable achievement, so much as his simply amazing manner on the pitch.
Clattenburg certainly knew what it was like to come back from rock bottom. Sacked as a professional referee by PGMOL in 2008 before he won back his place in court, conflicts with referee managers in Englandm accused of racism during the Chelsea - Manchester United game in 2012, arousing mass media attention for tattoos on his right arm (which he always kept covered by his long-sleeved shirts, by the way, and sought no recognition for them) - Clatts can certainly list mental fortitude amongst his attributes, and not only on the pitch.
But more than his de jure achievements, it was Clattenburg's manner on the pitch that allowed him to stand out in his games. Even besides his brilliant physical dynamism and approach to his games, he was, and probably still is, the maître when it comes to managing players on the pitch by using mimics, gestures and presence. Every single referee in the world can learn something from him, it's not easy to state just how amazing Clatts was in his presence on the pitch.
Anything but a yes man, Mark Clattenburg showed that you can stand out from the rest and reach the summit in refereeing, as he did both as a leader on the pitch and with his amazing achievements in 2016.
Thank you, Mr. Clattenburg!
Law 5 would like to take this opportunity to wish Gianluca Rocchi, Milorad Mažić and Mark Clattenburg all the best with their future endeavours in refereeing and beyond.
Below, some video tributes:
