by Alberto Bortolotti
The remembrance of Drazen Dalipagic cannot begin except with a kind of basketball homily by the greatest guru of their basketball, the Julian/Slovenian Sergio Tavcar: “... three champions that cannot be discussed were Dragan ‘Cobra’ Kićanović, Dražen ‘Praja’ Dalipagić and Vlade Divac. All of these were players who on the day gave the distinct feeling of being unmarkable, a characteristic that distinguishes the champion from the mere champion. On these players my conviction is of the 'Taucerian' type, that is, absolute.”
Speaking of definitions, in Belgrade Partizan fans used to call them “Kića i Praja, pobede bez kraja” (Kića and Praja, endless victories). And, as for personality, here's-perhaps-an urban legend: the story goes that, at some point during preparation, Dalipagić went to the granite Professor Nikolic, his coach, on behalf of the entire team. “Coach, maybe it would be better if you also listened to what we want. Because you the championship without us will not be able to win it, while we, even without you, could probably still win it.”
As for the 70-point record, I remember well that January 25, 1987, the day of 70 points. I was in the newsroom at Rete 7, waiting to make the full-bodied Sunday “Sport Today,” the sports newscast that could not avoid dealing in depth with Bologna, Fortitudo and Virtus (all playing on Sunday afternoons, the “lunch match” and “football night” were stuff, perhaps, from the NFL). A few weeks earlier we had called MartyByrnes, the algid, off-white foreigner brought in by a somewhat retreating Avvocato Porelli and who would, that Sunday at Arsenal, mark Praja Dalipagic (barring rare, unplanned moments in the zone), a “tristo”: a Bolognese adjective meaning poor. He raged about it but eventually agreed with us, in spite of the treatment that coach Sandro Gamba applied to that rebellious and uncombative outfielder. At the end of the season he was dismissed.
It amazed the scoreboard that said 70 points (the 3-point shot had come just three seasons earlier, but I almost think he would have made that haul anyway!) however, it did not amaze the hail of blows that sunk the black Vs among the Venetian calli. After all, Dalipagic was the one who “chewed up” 600 solo shots at the end of each practice, so much so that he had the custodian give him a copy of the gym keys because he, the Bosnian from Mostar when Bosnia-Herzegovina was still perhaps a region of the Titino empire, wanted to exercise the basically peculiar characteristic of basket ball: the basket, indeed. It's called “basket ball,” this sport, I often remind my friend Ettore Messina of it, too. And of the deep essence of that sport Dalipagic was probably the most faithful, attentive interpreter, a kind of guardian of the Holy Grail: the shot, in its absolutism and in its technical and stylistic purity. A living manual.
In 1987 Praja had just retired from the “plavi” national team, which then defunct, as an entity, in '91 in Rome when Slovenia came out first from Yugoslavia and Jure Zdovc was removed, as if he were a thief, from the Capitoline retreat. His generation predates the glittering generation that so many remember: the Petrovic, Kukoc, Radja, Savic, Divac, Danilovic, Djordjevic, and 100 others we could name.
All I know is that, for us high schoolers discovering color on TV and irreverent commentaries from Koper/Capodistria, almost always with the unmistakable voice of Sergio Tavcar, there was a trimurti. The Three Gods of the time were Mirza Delibasic, point guard, DraganKicanovic, guard, Drazen Dalipagic, wing.
Ah, if you don't believe in the possibility of 70 points “without 3-point shooting,” read this Udinese anecdote. 46 points, then the next week 50, “without 3 point line.” But let's go in order.
During one of the shooting sessions the young assistant coach Colosetti had occasion to tell the champion from Mostar that before him he had known and coached one of his peers, Walter Szczerbiak.
“In a shooting session with Praja I told him that I had worked with another great shooter in Udine: Walter.” Lapidary was the response of the astonished Dalipagic: “Yes, great hand, but I am more complete because I also play one-on-one and create my own shot.”
The coach again: “Drazen took us to A1 by winning the top scorer title and scoring 46 points against Perugia and 50 against Reggio Emilia in the last two decisive games, when there was still no three-point shooting and he was already 32. Forty years ago, the career did not last as it does now until almost forty years of age. Five or six years earlier Dalipagic was at his peak, when he was winning World Championships and Olympics he was infeasible. He was in the prime of athletic vigor at 27 or 28, while at 32 he was playing technique in shooting. He was not a great defender, but, when stimulated, he also defended.”
Translated with DeepL.com
The M.A. Olympic Studies is a fully accredited, 120-credit master’s program designed for professionals who wish to continue working while pursuing their studies. This part-time program includes one intensive study week per semester, covering six modules that explore both theoretical and practical aspects of the Olympic Movement. Topics include Media and Commercialization, Sports Policies, and International Relations.
For more information and to apply, please visit the following application website: https://myspoho.dshs-koeln.de/qisserver/pages/cs/sys/portal/hisinoneStartPage.faces and a tutorial video to help applicants throughout the process. For further questions please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
General Overview
The programme implements a high-level, interdisciplinary curriculum in Olympic Studies to foster the links between the academic and the Olympic world. There are in total 6 Modules, which cover both the theoretical and practical framework of the Olympic Movement:
1. Ethics, Values and Olympic Education
2. Olympic Athletes and Elite Sport in Transition
3. Research Methodologies in Olympic Studies
4. Governance, Policy and Olympic Organizations
5. Olympic Games – Media and Commercialization
6. International Relations and the Olympic Movement
Funding opportunities for our program are provided through the Olympic Solidarity Scholarship Programme, in collaboration with the respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs), not directly by us.
The application period remains open until February 28 2025.
She is the 425th victim in the last two years: a massacre for cyclists.
by Matteo Contessa
She was born in a land of cyclists, Sara Piffer, the young Trentine two-wheeler promise who was run over and killed by a car on Friday on the Rotaliana internal road connecting Mezzocorona and Mezzolombardo. She was born in Palù di Giovo, the village of Francesco Moser, to name but one. And in that land of cyclists she left forever. Soon. Too soon. Because at 19, whatever the cause, it is still too early to die. She was a competitor, Sara, and was training with her brother. She had started her career with Velo Sport Mezzocorona and had distinguished herself with a second place in the Madison in 2021. With the Mendelspeck Ge-Man, she had won last year in Corridonia, Marche, and had finished second in the Trentino time trial in Verla/Maso Roncador.
The motorist who hit her, a 70-year-old gentleman, explained that he was overtaking, but was dazzled by the sun and did not see the two boys coming in the opposite direction. He thought he was giving himself an extenuating circumstance with this explanation. Instead, he threw an aggravating circumstance at himself: on that stretch of road the carriageway is not wide and overtaking another car was already a borderline manoeuvre. If there was also the sun glaring down, making it impossible to see whether someone was coming in the opposite direction, then one had to wait until one had a full and clear view before initiating the manoeuvre.
Sara Piffer is not the number 9 cyclist in 2025 to lose her life. No, Sara is number 425 in the last 24 months. A carnage. Which didn't actually start at the beginning of 2023, it has been going on for a long time before that if we think that Michele Scarponi, along with Davide Rebellin undoubtedly the most illustrious victim on this list, was mowed down while training near his home in the Marche region in April 2017. Many cyclists are run over just like Sara Piffer, because they are unobtrusive figures in the roadway and ride at the edge of it. Those behind the wheel always think they have enough space to pass anyway. Instead, the space is often not there and those who are less stable always pay the consequences. And these are almost always competitive cyclists, because they are the ones who need long, evenly surfaced roads to train. They therefore ride on arterial roads frequented by mixed traffic. Cycle tourists, on the other hand, use the increasingly extensive and widespread network of cycle paths closed to motor vehicles for their outings
In both cases, those who ride on two wheels must observe very strict safety rules: helmet compulsory, front and rear lights always on, riding in single file and as close to the edge of the road as possible, fluorescent clothing and reflectors at various points on the bike to be visible from a distance even in poor visibility. But this is often not enough. The Italian Highway Code, already in its version prior to the current one, stipulated that there must be a distance of one and a half metres between the motor vehicle and the bicycle when overtaking. But almost never is this distance respected. Then there are accidents, injuries and deaths.
Something must be done to stop this carnage. But it is no longer just a question of written rules. It is a cultural issue, because the cyclist on the road cannot be considered the child of a lesser god by motorists. Everyone must do their part. And Panathlon International, which has numerous cyclist groups in different parts of the world, is certainly not backing down. Memoranda of understanding, even at national level, are important to make cycling safer. But they alone are not enough if a different culture is not promoted among those who use the roads by different means.
More is also needed. A very good idea has been making the rounds for some time now, and it was while commenting on Sara Piffer's death that Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Luca Gialanella gave it a strong voice: we need to start with driving school courses, including the study of the rules of engagement between motor vehicles and bicycles in the textbooks preparing for the licence and above all in the compulsory practical driving training for those who want to take it. This would be the right start to educating new generations of drivers to think of the roads as a place where four and two wheels can coexist.
In the meantime, Panathlon International's thoughts go out to those left behind: to her family members and in particular to Sara's brother who used to ride with her and will no longer be able to ride a bicycle. The pain is heartbreaking. And all of us cannot just be spectators to this carnage. In Italy and outside Italy.
(Translated with DeepL.com)
The General Secretariat's offices will be closed on Monday afternoon 27 January due to hydrogeological alert (orange from 3pm to 6pm) and Tuesday 28 January due to red alert (until 2pm) and orange alert (until 4pm)
With the publication of the call for entries for the PHOTO CONTEST 2025, the P.I. Domenico Chiesa Foundation in collaboration with Panathlon International launches a new photo contest project.
Once again, the contest will take place in the framework of the Festival of EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY (https://www.fotografiaeuropea.it/tema-2025/) and (https://www.fotografiaeuropea.it/fe2025-open-call/) organised by “Palazzo Magnani Foundation” with the collaboration of “Foundation for Sport - Municipality of Reggio Emilia”.
We address to all Panathlon International bodies, Panathlon Clubs and their Referents the invitation to promote the competition through all their communication channels.
The competition has the aim to spread the knowledge of Panathlon International and the feelings and emotions among young sportsmen. Registration is free of charge and important prizes are provided.
The success of the competition depends on the cooperation of all of us.
Rules - in Italian and English languages – are published in the website of Panathlon International (https://www.panathlon-international.org/index.php/en/fondazione-domenico-chiesa/2025-photo-contest)
For the first time in the history of Panathlon International, the Extraordinary General Meeting was held online. The event took place on Saturday 14th December at 3 p.m. (CET), with the participation of as many as 196 panathletes, gathered to discuss the main item on the agenda: the increase of the membership fees to PI for the next biennium. President Giorgio Chinellato started the proceedings by appointing the Vice-President, Secretary and scrutineers, and explained the reasons that prompted the International Board to propose the increase.
The main reasons included: the need to support PI's international activities, including expansion and new projects; the absence of fee increases for more than 20 years, the opportunity to realign the fee to the effects of inflation and to compensate for the loss of revenue due to the decrease in membership. The President noted the Assembly's decision and stated that the work of the PI would be reorganised considering this choice. He then addressed special thanks to all those who had collaborated with their hard work in the previous months and to the participants for their presence.
In conclusion, the President wished Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and declared the Meeting closed at 17:15.
Last 11th December Panathlon International, the Secretary General Callo Simona together with Rossi Monica Administrative Secretary, participated in the fourth and last webinar organised by the IOC for 2024 dedicated to ‘Good Governance’. On this occasion the focus was ‘Development & Solidarity’.
In addition to the PI there were 40 other participants representing Sports Federations and Associations. The suggestion that arose after the meeting is to create a Good Governance programme for the coming four-year period 2025/2028.
Here are the main points discussed, which are also well specified in the IOC Code of Ethics:
Distribution of resources
Financial resources generated by sport must be reinvested in sport, with a focus on the development of sport and the direct or indirect support of athletes. Financial revenues must be allocated fairly and efficiently to ensure balanced and attractive competitions, must be dedicated to promoting fair, inclusive and diverse sport, with a focus on gender equality. Financial resources must be used through clear and transparent processes aligned with the development objectives of sport and the principle of solidarity must be a key element in their allocation.
To ensure responsible management of funds, specific mechanisms must be put in place to monitor and evaluate the use of resources by beneficiaries.
For all these reasons, the IOC will monitor the use of donated funds at 3 well-defined levels.
Environmental and Social Responsibility
All sports organisations will have to commit to minimising negative impacts and maximising positive ones by taking responsibility through the organisation of events, promoting gender equality, inclusion and diversity; respecting and promoting human rights; and pursuing environmental excellence.
Collaboration between Sports Organisations and Government Authorities
Sports organisations and government authorities must collaborate and coordinate their actions, respecting each other's jurisdictions and responsibilities, and avoiding undue interference. This collaboration must foster the development of sport at all levels; support and protect athletes, counteracting doping, all forms of manipulation, corruption in sport, as well as harassment, abuse and violence; use sport as a tool to protect young people from crime.
Sports development programmes must be designed to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular promote the creation of partnerships between sports organisations, and work towards the expansion and maintenance of sports facilities in countries in need.
Autonomy of the Olympic Movement
During the meeting it was reiterated that all sports organisations must maintain their autonomy and political neutrality in operations and governance. It is essential to reject any form of political, religious or economic pressure that could hinder compliance with the Olympic Charter.
Finally, sports organisations should seek sources of funding that are compatible with the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, promoting diversification of revenues to ensure the sustainability and independence of their activities.
In short, ‘good governance’ is an opportunity to consolidate credibility. We all have a role to play towards our organisation and our members.
During the webinar, William Glenwright, Head of Global Development for the International Cricket Council, Julie Marks (Sustainability Working Group) and Saurav Ghosal (Co-Chair, Athletes' Commission) for the World Squash Federation spoke, bringing their experience in implementing Good Governance milestones.
The meeting ended with the promise of new webinars during 2025.
For more information, this is the link https://www.ipacs.sport/news/good-governance-webinars-conclude-successfully
(translated by Deepl)
On Tuesday 26 November, the gala evening of the ‘beactive awards’ took place in
the presence of Mrs Ahrenkilde Hansen,director General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture European Commission and Mrs Floor Van Houdt , Head of EAC Unit Sport.
Paul Standaert, was present at the gala evening and the debriefing as representative of the International Board and President Chinellato.
Four awards were presented during the gala evening.
Prof Em Thierry Zintz, past member of Panathlon’ s scientific commission was member of the jury that granted an award to:
- Sport Union Austria, Education award
- Metropole de Lyon France, Workplace award
- Fundacj Rozwoju Sportu Poland, Across Generation award
- Allessio Bernabò Italy, Local Hero award
The evening was followed by a interesting keynote address by former Olympic Gold Fencing, Dr Diana Bianchedi, Chief Strategy Planning &Legacy Milano Cortina 2026.
As always, this event was a fine opportunity to connect with sport enthusiasts from EU countries.
The following morning was the debriefing of the 2024 European Week of Sport. This year was the participation record was again broken.
In 24 countries, 15 million persons have participated at one of the 50.000 Events.
Panathlon International is partner of EWOS since 2015. Since 2020 the PI clubs have accelerated their participation, and the Italian Panathlon Clubs are in the lead. More than 20 Italian clubs organized an event in participation of EWOS.
Paul Standaert is grateful to all the clubs and their presidents in joining this European initiative.
The workplan for 2024-2027 was presented with a focus on three domains:
-integrity and values in sport
-social economic and sustainable dimension of sport
-participation in sport and healthy enhancing physical activity
In 2025 EU will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this great initiative.
As this will be a special year for EWOS, Panathlon could develop an one common initiative that unites clubs all over Europe in EWOS 2025.
by Alberto Bortolotti
Val Pusteria and Val Gardena incubators of the Sinner phenomenon. Those 2018 words to the Bolzano RAI: ‘I will be number 1’. He takes his teammates by the hand and leads them to the roof of the planet. Drop shot, a touch of poetry in Jannik's progress. The sense of team growing in females and males. The ‘overshadowed’ feat of the girls in the Billie Jean King Cup .
My personal excursus in Alto Adige, or South Tyrol as the locals perhaps still prefer, began in the 1960s with trips, together with my parents, to the Hippodrome of Maia, Merano where a grand prix was run - a gallop - which was also linked to a State Lottery: and my father Rino used to tell the story for the readers of Stadio. At the time, the Passer Promenade was teeming - it was September - with kiosks for traubenkur, or grape juice as a therapeutic remedy: the stuff of 19th-century courts, Merano was truly a timeless place. Later, when I started working too, at the end of the 1970s, the fashion broke out, pushed by the Tourist Promotion Companies, of inviting journalists on ‘educational tours’; the land on the border with Austria, a few decades after the irredentist bombs of Eva Klotz, had plenty of money to invest in tourism.
I remember the shouting of the Bruneck ice hockey ‘ultras’, ‘Fohr, fohr, Bruneck tor’, the discovery of knodl, kaminwurzen, kaiserschmarren and every other good thing, the old men from the villages who, in stunted Italian, urged their children to master it better, a blood bond ‘more with Bavaria than with Austrians’, a frequenter of the stube in Rasun told me, and even a few downhill runs from the lifts at Sesto in Pusteria.
Here, more or less in this Tyrol, the baby of the Sinner family was born. Who could have been No. 147 in the FISI giant slalom ranking (or a good C in mid-football, Ligabue model) and instead, fortunately, chooses to be No. 1 in the world tennis ranking (and the strongest tennis player in Italian history, already, at the age of 23). He exposes all this with great clarity to his colleague Daniele Magagnin, a journalist from Bolzano, after a (partial) failure (who beats him is such a Peter Heller, German, career high 273 in the world) in the Challenger of Santa Cristina in Val Gardena that would have brought him within the top 900 (!) rackets of the globe. It was 18 August 2018. ‘My dream is to become number 1 in the world and to win as many slams,’ he says with apparent self-assurance after saying that his role model is Andreas Seppi (South Tyrolean like him, Italian Daviscupman, number 18 in the ranking in 2013). Then he wins the ITF in Bergamo, publicly thanking the ball boys (he hasn't changed!).
There is also the problem of having appeared too ‘bold’, so much so that he confided to a friend ‘I am not a “braggart”, but simply a person who sets himself a goal’. And it is, I think, the absolute debut in the use of a term that is as much Bolognese as it is Romagnolo, before the tortellini of the mother of his former physiotherapist, the anzolese Jack Naldi (that broth, for so many reasons, is no longer tasted. And it is also sad, but right).
His calmness, his being a silent, thoughtful, affectionate, grateful ‘captain’ made him as great as the variety of strokes he now put together: late arrivals, a deadly drop-shot (what a beautiful English term in the face of the banal ‘short ball’) and a serve, if not of absolute level, at least remarkable. With the fusion of these talents, it was not impossible to predict the encore of the Davis success, nor even the regrowth of Matteo Berrettini, a doubles player of good calibre, better than Jannik (doubles is not the sum of two singles players, it is worth remembering), but above all the bearer of three points out of three matches: a re-boom also the result of the brotherly attention that Sinner dedicated to him. And patience if the fragile Musetti of the first day in Malaga was not able to redeem himself or the solidity of the Bolelli-Vavassori doubles was not allowed to show itself. The ‘manager’ Volandri did not - almost - miss a beat.
If possible, the girls did a much more titanic feat in the Billie Jean King Cup. There was no number 1, there was no precedent (ok, there was, but far in time and, Errani aside, with other protagonists), there were no ‘Sinner-like’ exploits in the circuit. And yet Bronzetti's promotion to number two of the Italian team, bypassing the more titled Cocciaretto, the great combativeness of Paolini, still number four in the world, the team sense of Sara Errani and the great calmness of the non-playing captain ‘Tax’ Garbin hit the mark. The only pity is that the big TV media did not believe it, but the girls, third in the world ranking, have made that upgrade, which is mainly the result of an untouchable group like cement.
The racket, in the world, speaks Italian. For the sporting world, this is an unspeakable satisfaction. The group sense of the men's and women's teams is superior to that of Cucelli/Del Bello 1 and 2 (immediate post-war period), Pietrangeli/Sirola/Tacchini/Gardini/Merlo (1960s), Panatta/Bertolucci/Barazzutti/Zugarelli (Chile ‘76) and Vinci/Errani/Pennetta/Schiavone (Fed Cup 2013). The new generations will have many faults but, being made up of more normal, less original, not at all crazy, perhaps over-formed people, they have less trouble getting behind the flag. I am optimistic.
Why? I want to tell you a secret: it is not over.
Le plus jeune arbitre de l'histoire de la finale du Championnat d'Europe de football : « La nomination et le prix sont une grande surprise.
Je suis inspiré par mon compatriote Vautrot ».
par Fabio Monti
Giulio Campanati, Milanais né en 1923, reste l'une des personnalités les plus importantes du monde de l'arbitrage, et pas seulement en Italie. Enregistré pour la première fois en 1940, siffleur international depuis 1957, il a dirigé 166 matches en Serie A de 1952 à 1966, date à laquelle il a décidé de mettre fin prématurément à sa carrière pour entamer une longue et prestigieuse carrière d'entraîneur. Membre de la commission des arbitres de la FIFA et de l'UEFA de 1968 à 1992, il a été désignateur de la Serie A de 1968 à 1972 et président de l'Association italienne des arbitres pendant 18 ans, de 1972 à 1990.
Cela ne l'a pas empêché de se faire un nom en tant qu'entrepreneur : son entreprise de mosaïque a permis de refaire le revêtement de la Galleria Vittorio Emanuele au cœur de Milan et la façade de la Rinascente sur la Piazza del Duomo.
Une figure aussi importante ne pouvait pas être oubliée et c'est pourquoi, trois ans après sa mort en 2011, le prix 'Giulio Campanati' est né, destiné au meilleur arbitre de la Coupe d'Europe ou de la Coupe du Monde, distingué pour la qualité de ses directions au cours de ces tournois. Le prix a donc été lancé en 2015 à l'occasion de la Coupe du monde au Brésil, par choix de l'association « Amici di Campanati » et de la section des arbitres de Milan, avec le soutien de la Fédération italienne de football et la direction de son fils Giorgio, et sous l'impulsion d'une autre figure fondamentale du monde de l'arbitrage, Cesare Gussoni.
Au tableau d'honneur figurent les noms de Nicola Rizzoli, choisi en 2014 après avoir arbitré la finale entre l'Allemagne et l'Argentine (qui s'est terminée en prolongation avec la victoire des Allemands 1-0) et en 2016 après l'excellent Championnat d'Europe, avec en point d'orgue la demi-finale France-Allemagne 2-0 ;l'Argentin Nestor Pitana, siffleur de la finale de Moscou entre la France et la Croatie (4-2) ; le Néerlandais Bjorn Kuipers, qui avait dirigé à Wembley le dernier acte de l'Euro 2020, Italie-Angleterre décidé aux tirs au but en faveur des Azzurri; et Daniele Orsato, tout juste rentré d'un grand tournoi au Qatar, qui s'est achevé par la demi-finale entre l'Argentine et la Croatie (3-0).
Dimanche 17 novembre, avant le début d'Italie-France (1-3), dernier match de la Ligue des Nations, au state de San Siro, le prix 2024 a été décerné au Français François Letexier, protagoniste d'un grand Championnat d'Europe en Allemagne, où il a dirigé Croatie-Albanie (2-2),Danemark-Serbie (0-0) et Espagne-Géorgie (4-1, huitièmes de finale), avant de surmonter la concurrence et d'être choisi par le désignateur de l'UEFA Roberto Rosetti pour diriger la finale de Berlin entre l'Espagne et l'Angleterre (2-1 le résultat final, 14 juillet).
La décision de l'UEFA et celle du jury du Prix Campanati, qui en est à sa sixième édition, ont un sens précis, puisque Letexier, Breton de Bédée, né le 23 avril 1989, également star des Jeux Olympiques de Paris, est devenu le plus jeune arbitre à diriger une finale de Championnat d'Europe. S'adresser aux jeunes pour un arbitrage de plus en plus en phase avec son temps et avec les nouvelles indications réglementaires, Var compris, car il est clair qu'on ne dirige plus seul, même si la décision finale revient toujours à l'arbitre sur le terrain : c'est l'indication fournie par la Fédération européenne de football.
Letexier est le deuxième arbitre français à diriger la finale du Championnat d'Europe, après Michel Vautrot, l'arbitre de Hollande-Union soviétique (2-0) le 25 juin 1988 à Munich.
Et ce n'est pas un hasard si ce passage de témoin a eu lieu, car, comme l'a expliqué Letexier lui-même, « Vautrot a toujours été une référence pour nous, et c'est précisément sa façon de diriger et de traiter les joueurs dont j'ai toujours essayé de m'inspirer ».
En présence du Président de la Fédération italienne de football, Gabriele Gravina, c'est Orsato lui-même qui a remis le prix à Letexier, qui n'a pas caché son émotion : « Je suis honoré de recevoir ce prix et je le suis pour trois raisons : parce que c'est le fruit de ce que j'ai fait au Championnat d'Europe, avec mon “équipe” ; pour l'importance du prix ; parce que dans le passé, ce prix a été remis à de grands arbitres. Lorsque j'ai appris l'existence de ce prix, j'ai été surpris, tout comme j'ai été surpris d'être nommé pour la finale de l'Euro 2024.
Et il explique sa relation avec Var : « Pour nous, c'est un outil très utile. D'une manière générale, il n'a pas changé notre façon d'arbitrer, car notre objectif a toujours été de donner le maximum en faisant le minimum d'erreurs. Mais en cas de mauvaise décision, cette décision restait et il m'arrivait de mal dormir en pensant à l'erreur que j'avais commise. Maintenant, tous les arbitres sur le terrain savent qu'il y a une bouée de sauvetage et c'est un grand soulagement. Il ne faut pas s'énerver si on est corrigé par Var, l'important c'est que le résultat final soit au-dessus des erreurs.
L'histoire de Letexier ne s'arrête pas là, en effet, et il n'est pas certain qu'il ne puisse pas être choisi une deuxième fois, à l'occasion de la Coupe du monde 2026.