Colina: Violence Against Referees is A cancer
Agencies – Sudan Events
The head of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, confirmed that “violence against referees is a cancer that can kill football,” calling for action to address this phenomenon “before it is too late.”
Collina stressed: “Verbal and physical violence against referees is a cancer that can kill football. It is the responsibility of all those who love the great game to take action and do something, before it is too late.”
He stressed: “This cancer is killing football,” following the attack on a referee in Turkey, which led to the suspension of all professional competitions without setting a date for their resumption.
In a letter published by FIFA, Colina described the victim, Halil Umut Miller, as “a very good referee and a very good person.”
He revealed that he met him at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina earlier this year, stressing “neither a referee nor anyone deserves to live the experience that Miller went through in Ankara” when “he was doing his job and was assaulted on the field at the end of the match.” “..
Colina continued: “The image of him falling on the grass and protecting his head with his hands while being beaten with a bruise under his eye is horrific.”
