Born | Bellinzona, Switzerland | 6 February 1969||
---|---|---|---|
Other occupation | Head of Refereeing Development with FIFA | ||
Domestic | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1996–2011 | Swiss Super League | Referee | |
International | |||
Years | League | Role | |
1999–2011 | FIFA listed | Referee |
Massimo Busacca (born 6 February 1969) is a Swiss former football referee. He lives in Monte Carasso, Ticino, near Bellinzona.
Busacca was born in Bellinzona, Switzerland, to Italian parents from Sicily. [1] Busacca used to play football in a lower division in Ticino. After a successful career as a top referee he became Head of FIFA Refereeing in July 2011.
Busacca was a Swiss Super League Referee from 1996 to 2011 and a FIFA referee from 1999 to 2011. [2]
In 2006, Busacca refereed the Swiss championship-deciding match at St. Jakob-Park, between FC Basel and FC Zurich that resulted in the 2006 Basel Hooligan Incident.
Busacca took charge of the 2007 UEFA Cup Final at Hampden Park on 16 May, one of the biggest appointments for a UEFA referee. Busacca sent off RCD Espanyol midfielder Moisés Hurtado for a second bookable offence during the match.
Busacca was selected to referee at the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. [3]
At the tournament, Busacca was the referee for the Group C game between Netherlands and Romania, the Group D game between Greece and Sweden and the semi Final match between Germany and Turkey. [4]
Busacca was selected to referee the UEFA Champions League Final in Rome on 27 May 2009 between FC Barcelona and Manchester United.
He was chosen as a referee for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, refereeing the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final game between South Africa and Brazil match on 25 June 2009 in Johannesburg and Brazil went on to win 1–0.
On 19 September 2009, Busacca was the referee in a Swiss Cup match between FC Baden and BSC Young Boys. After crowd trouble disrupted the game after home side Baden took an unlikely lead, Busacca raised his middle finger to the crowd. [5] Busacca had initially denied making the obscene gesture but was handed a three-match ban by the Swiss Football Association and was forced to issue an apology. [6] [2]
Busacca was chosen to be a referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
He refereed three games:
He was selected as a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and refereed the South Africa vs. Uruguay game.
He awarded a penalty and showed the red card to the South African goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune, in the 77th minute, for tripping the Uruguay striker, Luis Suárez. Hosts South Africa went on to lose the game 3–0, and Khune became just the second goalkeeper to be sent off in World Cup history.[ citation needed ]
On 8 March 2011, Busacca was the referee in a UEFA Champions League 2010–11 Round of 16 match between Arsenal F.C. and FC Barcelona controversially sending Robin Van Persie off for kicking the ball after the whistle, with some commentators suggesting that he had cemented his place in the hall of fame of worst refereeing decisions of all time "Every decision referee Massimo Busacca got wrong - and right - in Barcelona vs Arsenal".
It was announced on 14 July 2011 that Busacca had taken up the position of Head of Refereeing Development with FIFA, retiring from active refereeing duties in the process. [8]
Busacca is a devout Catholic and was crowned Switzerland's non-smoker of the year in 2006. [2]
Pierluigi Collina is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998 to 2003.
Markus Merk is a former top-level German football referee. He is a six-time winner of the German Referee of the Year Award and the record holder in games refereed in the Bundesliga. In 2005, Merk was awarded the German Bundesverdienstkreuz in recognition of his service to football and his charity work in India. He ended his career by refereeing the match between Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC Berlin on the last day of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season on 17 May 2008.
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Emirates. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was lauded for his balance, ball control and agility in close spaces, combined with his skill, composure, and flair on the ball. Iniesta has spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons.
Mauro "Lustri" Lustrinelli is a Swiss professional football coach and a former player. He is the current coach of FC Thun. He is also a former player of the Swiss national team. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration and wrote a thesis about the Italian Serie A.
Tom Henning Øvrebø is a Norwegian former football referee who has officiated matches in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He's been elected in UEFA's top category of Elite Referee. Øvrebø has worked outside football as a qualified psychologist. His refereeing performance in the 2009 Champions League semi final between Chelsea and Barcelona is widely regarded as one of the worst refereeing performances of all time.
Ľuboš Micheľ is a retired Slovak football referee.
Howard Melton Webb MBE is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014.
Frank De Bleeckere is a Belgian former football referee. He had been a referee since 1984, and an international (FIFA) official since 1998. De Bleeckere refereed in his first World Cup finals in Germany, and had to pass a late fitness test following injury. He had been appointed by UEFA as one of twelve referees to officiate UEFA Euro 2008 matches, and was in charge of the semi-final between Spain and Russia.
Roberto Rosetti is an Italian former football referee. He is fluent in Italian (native), English and French. He started refereeing in 1983, and took charge of his first match in the Italian Serie A in 1996. He received his FIFA Badge in 2002. Aside from his refereeing duties, Rosetti works as director of a hospital.
Olegário Manuel Bartolo Faustino Benquerença is a retired Portuguese football referee. As of 11 March 2009, he has refereed 11 matches in the Champions League and 11 matches in the UEFA Cup. He also refereed in qualifiers for 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Peter Fröjdfeldt is a former top Swedish football referee.
The 2009 UEFA Champions League final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top football clubs in Europe. The match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat England's Manchester United 2–0. Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Lionel Messi added another goal 20 minutes from the end to earn Barcelona a historic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, a feat never before achieved by a Spanish club. The match was refereed by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca.
Alain Sars is a retired French football referee.
Swiss Super League/Challenge League playoffs is the play-offs round to determine promotion and relegation between Super League and Challenge League.
Felix Brych is a German football referee. He referees for SV Am Hart München of the Bavarian Football Association. He is a former FIFA referee and was ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is a football commentator for TUDN. A prolific forward, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the best in Barcelona's history. He is also regarded as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. He was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992 and 1994, and received the Ballon d'Or in 1994. In 2004, Stoichkov was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Cüneyt Çakır is a former Turkish football referee. He is best known for refereeing the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Barcelona. He was FIFA listed since 2006 and a member of the UEFA Elite since 2010 until his retirement.
Carlos Velasco Carballo is a retired Spanish professional football referee.
Björn Kuipers is a former Dutch football referee. He has been a FIFA listed referee from 2006 to 2021 and an UEFA Elite group referee from 2009 to 2021. He was assisted during international matches by Sander van Roekel and Erwin Zeinstra. A supermarket owner by occupation, Kuipers has officiated at two World Cups and three European Championship tournaments. It was announced on 29 July 2021 that Kuipers would be retiring from refereeing, officiating his final match between Ajax and PSV on 7 August in the 2021 Johan Cruyff Shield.
Claudio Circhetta is a Swiss former football referee. As a player in the Swiss junior leagues for over 20 years, Circhetta often disagreed with the referees, but instead of criticising them, he became a referee himself in 1988. In 2000, he was promoted to referee matches in the Swiss Super League, and five years later he became a FIFA-listed international official.