Arezzo, 2 May 2024 – First the final whistle to close Cremonese-Pisaplayed on the afternoon of May 1st and finished 2-1 for the Lombards, then the final whistle on his career as a referee. Manuel VolpiUmbrian of Città della Pieve but now formerly belonging to the Hague section of Arezzohe decided that it was over for him.
“I end it here together with the strongest of all and the man who stood by me in the most difficult moment of my life… I leave refereeing and any other role within my beloved association”. The post on Instagram begins with these words. Volpi published the photo of himself together with Orsato, continuing: “After 20 years, a journey that has made me the man and father I am now ends. I thank all my colleagues from the president to the boys who dream of reaching Serie A. I thank all the presidents, sporting directors, managers and coaches from Spalletti to the top 2 of my first rookie match. I thank the footballers from the champions that I had the honor of knowing to the children who hope to become one….remember everyone that we are always more sorry than you when we make mistakes because our only aim is to give the best service to football. I thank all the players today who had the usual exemplary behavior towards me and at the end of the match they accepted everything I explained to them about my work… it was wonderful to be part of this world that took me from children to San Siro ”.
A post also accompanied by a “story” also on Instagram in which Volpi wrote: “I resigned due to a very serious personal problem”.
Then the thanks chapter: the list includes Rocchi, Rizzoli, Morganti, Giannoccaro, Trefoloni, Stefani, Gava, Pacifici, Brighi, Damato and Gervasoni.
A surprise announcement, which comes after a match marked by a few too many errors (so much so that the Pisa coach Aquilani at the end of the match he revealed: “The referee apologized”) and after a career that has seen the Umbrian referee referee 66 matches in Serie B and around twenty in Serie A, but not this year.
Certainly a difficult time continues for The Hague, after the earthquake caused by the D’Onofrio case (the former chief prosecutor of The Hague who two years ago ended up at the center of a sensational case of international drug dealing) and the recent resignation of the referee Abbattista from Molfetta.
