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Claudia Romani doesn’t deserve your attention in a referee’s kit. In a bikini, sure. In a skin tight dress, yes. She’s a model, she gets paid for the attention that her looks garner. But I don’t care what tests or qualifications she may have passed; I don’t care if she would have been the hottest ref in soccer; this good looking woman is not a referee. She would have made a mockery of Seria A if she had been allowed to officiate a match.
Last year in what I assume was a PR stunt that was mercifully not followed through with, news broke that Romani passed some exams or earned some qualifications that certified her to be a referee in the Italian Serie A and Serie B. Since then precious little has been written about Romani’s officiating career; one can hope that it’s because it never got off the ground.
The Italian Serie A undoubtedly could have used the attention such a PR stunt would have provided. It is losing its biggest stars to other leagues, losing TV audiences to other leagues, and losing in the Champions League to other leagues. Still, making Romani a referee is the opposite of what the league needs, now and then.
After she passed her referee tests, Romani was quoted as saying: "Running around on the pitch with all those players and calling the shots is just an irresistible opportunity." Being intrigued by “calling the shots” sounds like she wanted to be the star of matches. Referees are not supposed to be the stars of matches.
Furthermore, nowhere across her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter is her ever being a referee mentioned. The extent of Romani’s soccer knowledge seems to be making sexy Instagram predictions of big soccer matches around Europe.
I don’t think I am making a leap of faith when I say that she doesn’t know enough about soccer, or have a great enough appreciation for what it means to be a referee, to become a referee at the highest level of soccer.
Serie A is one of the worst leagues when it comes to social issues. It is notorious for its racist fans. It operates in a country where women were described as recently as 2009 by Italian native Maria Laura Rodota as “overdressed, overworked [with] the lowest self-esteem in the western world.” Making Romani the hottest ref in soccer would have been shown complete disregard for the problems of the league; it would have been downright insulting.
Let’s all take a moment to be thankful for the fact that somewhere, someone didn’t let this go through.
Claudia Romani deserves to be able to work hard and be successful. If she wants to be a referee, and she can legitimately prove that she has the wherewithal to be one, then let her be one. Until then, she should stick to the modeling career she has spent the better part of a decade building.
Follow me on Twitter: @yetly
