Giulio Campanati

Giulio Campanati refereed 166 Serie A matches between 1953, and his last match on 27 March 1966 (Fiorentina - Juventus). Regarded as one of the best Italian referees in the 1950s and 60s, he won the Giovanni Mauro Award as Best Referee of the Year in 1960. He refereed both matches in the two-legged Italian Cup final between Roma and Torino in 1964. He was appointed a FIFA international referee in 1956, and was in charge of the second leg of the all-Spanish 1962 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final between Valencia and Barcelona. He was also in charge of two European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals. The first was between Glasgow Celtic and MTK Budapest in 1964, and the second was the Borussia Dortmund - West Ham United match in 1966. Campanati refereed in one game, and ran the line at two others, at the 1960 Roma Olympics. He was chosen for the 1964 Tokyo Games, but was prevented from taking part due to Italy’s withdrawal from the competition.

After his retirement, Campanati served the game in various official capacities. He was a member of the Referee Commission of FIFA and UEFA between 1968-92, and in 1976, was the official inspector at the 1976 Montréal Olympics. He was also responsible for designating referees for Serie A matches 1968-72, and for 18 years (1972-90) served as president of the A. I. A. (Associazione Italiana Arbitri), the Association of Italian Football Referees, hence his nickname “Presidentissimo”. Campanati received the FIFA Special Referee Award in 1977.