The former soccer referee Pierluigi Collina has made a startling admission in a recent interview in his native Italy.

I will always be grateful to that crowd: that day, they couldn’t have cared less about having a bald referee.” Collina officiated the 2002 World Cup Final, in which Brazil won 2-0 against Germany.

Former Italian referee Pierluigi Collina reveals he blew the full-time whistle in the 2002 World Cup Final a few seconds later to ensure he had the ball in his hands and says referee chiefs wanted him ...