Pierluigi Pairetto is an Italian former 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. Among the many prestigious games he officiated were the Euro 96

1996 UEFA European Football Championship

The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by England, who won the right to host the tournament ahead of bids from Austria, Portugal and the Netherlands. It was the tenth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first to use the...

 final between 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....

 and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic national football team

The Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...

 at Wembley

Wembley Stadium

The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

, and the classic USA 94

1994 FIFA World Cup

The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

 second-round clash between Romania

Romania national football team

The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 and Argentina

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 in Pasadena

Rose Bowl (stadium)

The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...

.

He held the position of 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...

 vice chairman of the UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 Referees Committee until the summer of 2006, when it was discovered that he had been in regular telephone contact with Juventus FC chief executive Luciano Moggi

Luciano Moggi

Luciano Moggi is an Italian football managing director. He was the general director of Juventus F.C. from 1994 until May 2006, years that anointed him as one of the most successful football managing director except the last two club seasons that were involved in Calciopoli...

 regarding which referees would be selected for Juventus' UEFA Champions League

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...

 fixtures. As a result of his involvement in this scandal

2006 Serie A scandal

The 2006 Italian football scandal involved Italy's top professional football leagues, Serie A and Serie B...

, he initially received a ban of two years and six months from football, although this was later increased to three and a half years.

External links

• Jonathan O'Brien, The Sunday Business Post
  The Sunday Business Post
  The Sunday Business Post is an Irish national Sunday newspaper published by Post Publications Limited. Post Publications is owned by Thomas Crosbie Holdings. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Ireland, the average weekly circulation was 57,783 for the period January to June 2009. The...
  
  , 16 July 2006, "The Italian Job"