For the second time in his career, Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli will preside over a major European final. He’s the man in the middle for the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich on Saturday, and it will be his first career Champions League final.
Champions League final 2013: Nicola Rizzoli will officiate Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
Nicola Rizzoli will take over the biggest match of his career at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening.
The only other European final Rizzoli has officiated was the 2010 Europa League final between Atletico Madrid and Fulham, in which he showed four yellow cards and sent no one off. Rizzoli has also officiated three Euro 2012 matches and four World Cup qualifiers. He has been a Champions League official since the 2008-09 season and presided over four games in this year's tournament.
Rizzoli does not send off players frequently in European games, but brings out yellow cards more frequently than most. He showed an average of six yellow cards in his four Champions League games this season. He once showed 10 yellows in one game, during a Champions League playoff game between Malmö and Dinamo Zagreb in 2011.
Domestically, Rizolli has been a bit more heavy-handed with his discipline. He’s brought out the red card in four of his last six Serie A games.
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