Gottfried Dienst was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 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 who was born in Basle. He is possibly best known for being the referee in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final

1966 FIFA World Cup Final

The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth football World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany on 30 July 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London, and had an attendance of 98,000. England won 4–2 after extra time to win the Jules Rimet...

, in which he awarded a controversial goal to England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 after consulting his Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 (Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

i) linesman Tofik Bakhramov

Tofik Bakhramov

Tofik Bahram oglu Bahramov , commonly known as the Russian linesman in England, was an Azerbaijani football referee notable for being the linesman who helped to award a goal for England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final against West Germany...

.

At the time he was considered the best referee in the world. Dienst is one of only four men to have twice refereed a European Cup

European Champion Clubs' Cup

The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League...

 final, which he did in 1961 and 1965, and one of only two (the other being the 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...

 Sergio Gonella

Sergio Gonella

Sergio Gonella is an Italian businessman and a noted football referee. He was the first Italian appointed to referee the FIFA World Cup final, which occurred when he took charge of the 1978 final between Argentina and the Netherlands...

) to have refereed both the European Championship final and the World Cup Final. However, his officiating in the 1968 European Championship final was marred by controversy. In that game, a 1-1 draw between Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

 and Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia national football team

The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

 which was played in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Dienst came to be accused of favouring the home team. The final was replayed later (the Italians winning 2-0); a game refereed by the Spaniard

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

 José Maria Ortiz de Mendibil.