Collina hid a secret for 23 years: I deliberately broke the rule in the 2002 World Cup final

Famous Italian referee Pierluigi Collina has admitted after 23 years that he deliberately broke the rule in the legendary 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany, which was played in South Korea and Japan.

Collina has recently shown that he wanted to keep the ball from the final at all costs, so he decided on an interesting move.

"Then I blew the whistle to end the game 13 or 14 seconds later, regardless of the score."

"I wanted to be sure I had the ball in my hands and that I would take it home," the Italian admitted in an interview with the local daily. La Repubblica.

Der 64-Jährige gestand, dass er das Finale länger laufen ließ, um an den Ball zu kommen. ⚽ 😅
Die eigenwillige Verlängerung einderte aber nichts: Deutschland verlor 0:2. 😔 Der Italiener gehörte über viele Jahre hinweg zu den bekanntesten Schiedsrichtern.#SkySport #Collina pic.twitter.com/lxsFbpw4Jl

- Sky Sport (@SkySportDE) February 11, 2025

By the way, in all the photos from the ceremony after the final, Collina can be seen with the ball in his hand because he literally never let go of it.

One of the members of the organizing team even tried to take the ball from him, but Collina stubbornly resisted.

Read too Legendary Italian referee Collina calls for penalty kick rule change

He finally fulfilled his great wish and brought home the ball from the World Cup.

Topi is currently in his gym, while he has also 'stole' the jerseys of Ronaldo, Cafu and Dietmar Hammann from the famous final. /Telegraph/