Kurt_Röthlisberger
Kurt Röthlisberger
Swiss football referee
Kurt Röthlisberger (born 21 May 1951 in Suhr) is a retired football referee from Switzerland. He is known for supervising five matches in the FIFA World Cup: three matches in 1990, and two in 1994.
| Born |
(1951-05-21) May 21, 1951 (age 72) Suhr, Switzerland | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1983–1996 | Nationalliga A | Referee | |
| International | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 1985–1996 | FIFA-listed | Referee | |
In the 1994 World Cup, he refereed the round of 16 match between Germany and Belgium, which Germany won 3–2. Röthlisberger later admitted that he missed a penalty when Thomas Helmer tripped Josip Weber in the penalty area against Germany and due to this mistake he did not referee another game in the tournament.[1][2]
He also refereed the 1992-93 UEFA Champions League final between Olympique de Marseille and A.C. Milan.
In 2011, former Turkish referee and sports commentator Ahmet Çakar claimed that Manchester United's 1993-94 UEFA Champions League tie with Galatasaray was fixed. Çakar claimed that Galatasaray bribed referee Röthlisberger to fix the 0-0 draw, which put the Turks through at United’s expense. Röthlisberger sent off Eric Cantona at the end of the match and the United star claimed at the time the official had been bribed. At the time, Cantona told L’Equipe: “I am certain referees have been bought in the European Cup and I ask myself whether Mr Rothlisberger had not also been bought.”[3]
He was later banned from refereeing for life after allegations of match fixing in the 1996-97 UEFA Champions League.[4] The game in question was between Grasshoppers Club Zürich and AJ Auxerre, with Vadim Zhuk of Belarus the referee. UEFA said Röthlisberger contacted the Swiss team and asked if it would be interested in having the referee favor the Grasshoppers.[5]
- "WORLD CUP '94: NOTEBOOK; Mistakes Also Cost Referees". The New York Times. 5 July 1994.
- "WORLD CUP USA '94 ROUND OF 16 : Germany Clean as a Non-Whistle : Soccer: Voeller scores twice in 3-2 victory, but lack of a call has Belgians crying foul. - latimes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
- "Former ref claims United game against Galatasaray was fixed". Mirror. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- Longman, Jere (1998-06-07). "SOCCER; Fixed Matches Are Darkening Soccer's Image". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
- "Top referee banned for attempted bribe". AP News. 27 March 1997. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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