Stefano Farina (19 September 1962 – 23 May 2017) was an Italian association football referee.
Career Farina was born in Ovada on 19 September 1962. He started refereeing at the age of 16, and hade his debut in the Italian Serie A in 1995. In a 27-year career, he refereed several high-profile matches in Serie A, the UEFA Champions League, and other UEFA club competitions, including the first leg of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie between Real Madrid and Arsenal, the second leg of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup quarter-finals between Sevilla and Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the 2006 UEFA Super Cup final in Monaco between Barcelona and Sevilla,UEFA. "Farina handed Super Cup honour". 23 August 2006. Retrieved on 17 May 2013. During this time, he also had an appearance in the movie Goal II as the referee of the fictional Champions League final between Real Madrid and Arsenal. He also officiated the 2000 (Lazio–Inter) and 2002 (Juventus–Parma) editions of the Supercoppa Italiana.
At international level, Farina officiated UEFA's preliminary FIFA World Cup matches in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification,FIFA. "Match Report - Netherlands - FYR Macedonia 0:0". 12 October 2005. Retrieved on 17 May 2013. and also in qualifiers for the European Championship, such as the UEFA Euro 2004 qualification,UEFA. "Albania 0-0 Republic of Ireland". 2 April 2003. Retrieved on 17 May 2013. as well as the UEFA Euro 2008 qualification. He is known to have served as a FIFA referee during the period from 2001 to 2007.FIFA. "Match Report - Portugal - Cyprus 6:0 (1:0)". 6 June 2001. Retrieved on 17 May 2013.UEFA. "Israel 2-1 Russia". 17 November 2007. Retrieved on 17 May 2013.
Post-retirement career Farina retired internationally in 2007 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 45, and retired from refereeing domestic matches in 2009, having officiated 236 Serie A games in total. During the 2010–11 season, he served as an UEFA referee observer. He later served as the head of Italy’s Serie B referees' committee (CAN B) from 2014 until 2017. He was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Death Farina died in Genova on 23 May 2017, aged 54.Calcio mourns referee Farina. 23 May 2017. Retrieved on 23 May 2017.
Major matches refereed +DateMatchTournamentVenueResultRef25 August 2006Barcelona vs. Sevilla2006 UEFA Super Cup finalStade Louis II, Monaco0–3
Honours Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2017
References
External links Farina Honoured at Monaco Date