Career
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 never a World Cup Final, the closest to that being the West Germany - Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics semi-final in 1966.
He had been provisionally chosen to referee the 1970 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup Final, but the Italian team reached the final, so he could not officiate. The latter final occurred shortly after his fiftieth birthday, making him the oldest official at a European final.
He retired after this match. He was Minister of Sport for a spell, and, briefly, was Minister for Drought.
In 1986 he was elected mayor of Syracuse, but was only in the job for five months.
In 2012 he was posthumously inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame.