- Concetto Lo Bello
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Concetto Lo Bello (13 May 1924 – 9 September 1991) was an Italian football referee, born & died in Syracuse, Sicily. He holds the record for refereeing the most games in Serie A (328).
His career spanned the years 1944 to 1974, refereeing his first international match in 1958. Throughout the 1960s he was regarded as one of the world's finest referees, a compelling mixture of authority and flamboyance.
He officiated at 34 international matches, though surprisingly never a World Cup Final, the closest to that being the West Germany - USSR semi-final in 1966. He refereed the European Cup finals of 1968 (Manchester United v Benfica) and 1970 (Feyenoord v Celtic) as well as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 2nd leg final in 1966 and the UEFA Cup 2nd leg final in 1974. The latter final occurred shortly after his fiftieth birthday, making him the oldest official at a European final. He retired after this match.
After retirement, he entered politics, as a deputy for the Christian Democrat party. In 1986 he was elected mayor of Syracuse, but was only in the job for five months.
His son, Rosario Lo Bello, was also a Serie A and international referee.
Categories:- 1924 births
- 1991 deaths
- Italian football referees
- FIFA World Cup referees
- People from Syracuse (city), Sicily
- 1966 FIFA World Cup referees
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