The Most Famous
REFEREES from Switzerland
This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Referees. The pantheon dataset contains 107 Referees, 3 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 9th most number of Referees behind Brazil and Australia.
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Swiss Referees of all time. This list of famous Swiss Referees is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Gottfried Dienst (1919 - 1998)
With an HPI of 47.68, Gottfried Dienst is the most famous Swiss Referee. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.
Gottfried Dienst (Basel, 9 September 1919 – Bern, 1 June 1998) was a Swiss association football referee. He was mostly known as the referee of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. Dienst is one of only four men to have twice refereed a European Cup final, which he did in 1961 and 1965, and one of only two (the other being the Italian Sergio Gonella) to have refereed both the European Championship and the World Cup finals. He refereed the original 1968 European Championship final, which ended in a 1–1 draw between Italy and Yugoslavia. The final was replayed two days later; refereed by the Spaniard José María Ortiz de Mendíbil, the Italians won 2–0.
2. Massimo Busacca (1969 - )
With an HPI of 47.20, Massimo Busacca is the 2nd most famous Swiss Referee. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
Massimo Busacca (born 6 February 1969) is a Swiss former football referee, who is FIFA Director Refereeing, overseeing the protection of football’s core values and the continuous improvement of the game through the development of match officials and referee coaches. He lives in Monte Carasso, Ticino, near Bellinzona.
3. Urs Meier (1959 - )
With an HPI of 41.46, Urs Meier is the 3rd most famous Swiss Referee. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Urs Meier (born January 22, 1959) is a retired Swiss football referee. He officiated at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, taking charge of the semi-final between South Korea and Germany in 2002. He also refereed the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final that year. He appeared at Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, refereeing the quarter-final between England and Portugal in 2004. He retired 6 months later. Meier received FIFA appointments and refereed in the Swiss top division until he reached the mandatory retirement age for each. He now appears as a pundit on the German television channel ZDF during World Cups and European Championships. He also owns a brand of household appliances in Würenlos, Switzerland.
Pantheon has 3 people classified as referees born between 1919 and 1969. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living referees include Massimo Busacca and Urs Meier. The most famous deceased referees include Gottfried Dienst.
