Who is Daniele Orsato? Meet Euro 2024 referee
REFEREE Daniele Orsato is set to hang up his whistle at the end of Euro 2024.
The vastly experienced referee, 48, took charge of his final Serie A match last month, receiving a standing ovation from Atalanta and Fiorentina fans - he also broke down in tears after his final Champions League game.
Who is Daniele Orsato?
The Italian made his first World Cup appearance in 2018 and also officiated at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
Orsato had before officiated a series of international friendlies and World Cup qualifying fixtures, including the first leg of the World Cup play-off between Honduras and Australia.
He's also been a senior referee in Serie A since 2010, officiating 290 games before retiring.
Orsato made his Serie C debut in 2002, moving to the premier Serie A division for the 2006-07 season. He has gone on to make nearly 200 appearances in the division.
Since 2012, the Italian has been involved in Champions League fixtures. Orsato went on to referee the 2020 Champions League final and multiple semi-finals.
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He faced huge criticism from Croatian legend Luka Modric in the last World Cup.
The Real Madrid star branded Orsata as "one of the worst" and said his performance was a "disaster" as Argentina beat Croatia in the sem-final.
Modric said: "Argentina were a fair winner of the match, they were better, they deserved to win, but these things have to be mentioned, I generally don't do them, but today they have to be done.
"'I don't like to talk about referees, but this is one of the worst. I don't have a good memory of [Orsato], he's a disaster. For me it wasn't a penalty.
"Despite this, I don't want to detract from Argentina. The penalty killed us. We have to recover for third place and win that match."