Italian referee Pierluigi Collina is well respected throughout the footballing world
Collina clarification
Tuesday, 27 January 2004.
Following stories suggesting that Italian referee Pierluigi Collina could referee in England after he retires from refereeing Italian football at the end of this season, we can clarify the situation.
"For this to be able to happen, Mr Collina would need to make a request to referee in this country," a spokesman told us. "Neither The FA nor The Professional Game Match Officials Board have, at this stage, received any such request."
Should there be any further developments on this story, we will keep you updated.