WHY REFEREE DANIELE ORSATO BURST INTO TEARS AFTER PSG 0-1 DORTMUND

Upon blowing the full-time whistle of Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 Champions League semi-final win over Paris Saint-Germain, referee Daniel Orsato cut an emotional figure as he burst into tears. A solitary goal from Mats Hummels was enough to see Edin Terzic’s side reach the final for the first time since they lost to arch-rivals Bayern Munich in 2012/13.

Kylian Mbappe and the like, despite hitting the woodwork on four separate occasions, were unable to unlock a stubborn Dortmund defence and crashed out of Europe’s most prestigious club competition in the penultimate round.

Emotions poured out from both sets of players and fans alike. The Dortmund contingent let off a collective sigh of relief followed by a roar of jubilation, while the Frenchmen sunk into the turf in disbelief.

Why Daniele Orsato Was Spotted In Tears

He was quickly embraced by his fellow officials

Another emotional figure was the man in the middle, Orsato. Reduced to tears as Parc des Princes came to terms with the score line, he broke down in the middle of the pitch and was quickly embraced by his fellow officials on the night.

The reason why the veteran was pictured teary-eyed at full-time on Tuesday was because he had just officiated his final Champions League match of his career. Orsato, 48, is set to hang up his whistle after taking centre stage at this summer’s European Championship for the last time.

Throughout the European tie, Orsato was on top form, all while being on hand to make some very important decisions including issuing PSG a free-kick on the edge of the box when a penalty looked to be the right call.

Replays proved Orsato’s call was the correct one, however, as goal scorer Hummels fouled Ousmane Dembele just outside of the penalty area. Respected journalist Henry Winter took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise the Italian official for his performance.

Orsato's Career as an Official

Overseen 288 games in Serie A

Orsato has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2010 and has overseen several high-profile matches, both internationally and on the European stage. This season alone, he refereed seven Champions League outings, which includes Manchester City and Real Madrid’s quarter-final clash in April.

The 48-year-old oversaw the 2020 Champions League final, which saw Bayern Munich outplay PSG, and he was the man in black for the 2022 World Cup opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.

Orsato had high hopes of following in the footsteps of compatriots Pierluigi Collina and Nicola Rizzoli, who have both officiated a World Cup final, but is yet to fulfil his dreams.

Back in 2020, he was named as the best referee of the year by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), proving the respect that the wider football community had for him and his service as an official.

He’s never been too far from criticism, however, as Luka Modric slammed his performance in the 2022 World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia, labelling him as “a disaster” and “one of the worst” referees he had encountered.

2024-05-09T03:15:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd