Roberto Rosetti

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Roberto Rosetti

Roberto Rosetti (born September 18, 1967 in Pecetto Torinese, Turin, Italy) is an Italian football referee.

An international referee since 2003, Rosetti was a referee at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was one of only 21 2006 FIFA World Cup officials. The normal number is 23.^{[citation needed]}

He was invited to referee the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the last minute, after another referee was unable to participate because of injury. He was to be the second Italian referee, but the other Italian, Massimo De Santis, was removed by the Italian Football Federation due to an ongoing investigation into the Serie A scandal of 2006. He was the tallest referee in the World Cup at at 1.90m (6ft 3ins). The 40-year-old hospital manager is from Turin.[1] In the 2006 World Cup his assistant referees were Cristiano Copelli and Alessandro Stagnoli.

On June 28th, Rosetti was chosen as one of the last 12 referees who could officiate the final eight games of the World Cup 2006. He didn't actually officiate any of these matches, since the presence of four European teams in the semi-finals forced the organizers to choose non-European referees, but his selection was considered to be a significant honor for a last minute replacement. At this point in the tournament Rosetti had handed out 3.75 cards per match, the second lowest of all referees in the tournament.

Rosetti also officiated at the Champions's League semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on April 30, 2008, earning the praise of UK television and radio commentators for his control of the game.

Rosetti will be officiating at the 2008 European Championship, and was selected to officiate the opening match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic.^[1]. Rosetti's performance in this match was subject to doubt by many.