Concetto Lo Bello was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 referee, born & died in Syracuse, Sicily. He holds the record for refereeing the most games in Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 (328).

His career spanned the years 1944 to 1974, refereeing his first international match in 1958. Throughout the 1960s he was regarded as one of the world's finest referees, a compelling mixture of authority and flamboyance.

He officiated at 34 international matches, though surprisingly never a World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 Final, the closest to that being the West Germany

Germany national football team

The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 - USSR semi-final in 1966

1966 FIFA World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...

. He refereed the European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 finals of 1968

1968 European Cup Final

The 1968 European Cup Final was the 13th European Cup Final and the culmination of the 1967–68 European Cup, a club football tournament for the champions of European leagues. The match was held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 29 May 1968, between Manchester United of England and Benfica of Portugal...

 (Manchester United v Benfica) and 1970

1970 European Cup Final

The 1970 European Cup Final was a football match held at the San Siro, Milan, on 6 May 1970, that saw Feyenoord of the Netherlands defeat Celtic of Scotland 2-1 after extra time. Ove Kindvall's goal in the 117th minute meant the trophy was going to a Dutch club for the first time. It remains...

 (Feyenoord v Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

) as well as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition was the idea of Swiss pools supremo Ernst Thommen, Ottorino Barassi from Italy, and the English Football Association general secretary Stanley Rous, all of whom later became senior officials...

 2nd leg final in 1966

1966 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final

The 1966 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was the final of the eighth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 14 September and 21 September 1966 between CF Barcelona and Real Zaragoza of Spain. Barcelona won the tie 4–3 on aggregate.-First leg:...

 and the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 2nd leg final in 1974

1974 UEFA Cup Final

The 1974 UEFA Cup Final was played on 21 May 1974 and 29 May 1974 between Tottenham Hotspur of England and Feyenoord of Netherlands. Feyenoord won 4–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second leg: -References:*...

. The latter final occurred shortly after his fiftieth birthday, making him the oldest official at a European final. He retired after this match.

After retirement, he entered politics, as a deputy for the Christian Democrat

Christian Democracy (Italy)

Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....

 party. In 1986 he was elected mayor of Syracuse, but was only in the job for five months.

His son, Rosario Lo Bello, was also a Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 and international referee.