One of the most important referees recently on the European scene has retired and put down the whistle. It’s about Turkish Cuneit Çakir 45 years old, he will be 46 next November, and has left arbitration after 16 years in the arbitration elite of the Old Continent. He is now the longest serving referee in Europe.
“Nani”, as he is known in the world of refereeing, last week officiated a match in the third round of the Champions League between Ludogorets Bulgarian and the GNK dynamo Croatian. A referee also closely associated with Spanish football. Without walking further, he was the official of the last League of Nations match played Spain before the Czech Republic and where the choice of Luis Enrique won 2-0.
The trajectory of Çakir as a referee of the “Elite” group is very extensive with a peak in 2014 when the Turkish international was appointed by UEFA for the finals of the Champions League to face the Barcelona Soccer Club and the Juventus of Turin at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
He whistled for all possible competitions: Super League, Turkish Cup, Champions League, Intertoto Cup, Europa League, etc.
There are two World Cup events where the Turk has been. First at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where he blew the whistle after matches, one of which was the semifinal between Netherlands Y Argentina. The second was held in Russia in 2018 where he again whistled for three more games. Again one of them is the semi-final in between Croatia and England.
His future continues to be tied to refereeing as he is set to become a referee instructor in his native Turkey. His first big date was a round of the Europa League semifinals when Turkish referees were still in the old Premier category of UEFA referees. In his second year in the Elite, he led the semifinals of the Champions League in between Barcelona Y Chelsea In addition to participating in Eurocopa 2012 where he was the official of the historic semifinal between Spain Y Portugal besides acting as the fourth official in the final where Spain ended up hitting 4-0 Italy. This was the first of three European Championships in which he participated.
The previous season was the busiest for the Turk who was separated from its center by the Turkish Federation. The reason given is the renovation they are doing. khaki He won the case on appeal. The change in the presidency of the Turkish Federation just a few months ago explains why he will now devote himself to the training of future referees.
In recent years, his appearance has also been a characteristic of this referee, who decided to leave his scalp scratched, and who is now leaving active arbitration.
Source: La Verdad
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