The Italian has revealed the emotion he felt after blowing the final whistle at Wembley and says he received the approval of Pierluigi Collina
Champions League final referee Nicola Rizzoli has admitted to crying after the game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The Bavarians triumphed 2-1 on the night at Wembley to seal their fifth European title and the Italian has revealed that Uefa Head of Referees Pierluigi Collina congratulated him on his performance.
“It happened after the game,” the 41-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I was alone, I looked at the stadium and the all the fans cheering – even Dortmund’s. The tension melted away and I was moved to tears.
“I thought I had done well, but I wanted to wait for Collina’s judgement. If I had done something wrong I would have been disappointed and, because I grew up with Collina, it would have been even harder.
“So when he entered the dressing room, I held my breath. He looked at me for a couple of seconds and there was silence.
“Then he said: ‘well done, well done, everyone’.”