Romualdo Arppi Filho, former Brazilian referee famous for directing the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico that Argentina beat Germany 3-2, died at the age of 84 in the Brazilian city of Saintsstate Saint Paulvictim of kidney disease.
the news network GloboNews stated that one of the three sons of the ex-arbitrator, Ricardo de Oliveira Arppiindicated that his father died at the Ana Costa Hospital.
“My father will always be a reference both in sport and an incredible human being.“said his son.
The place that football history reserves for Arppi is linked to Diego Maradona Yet the albicelestebecause he was the referee of the 1986 World Cup final, when with goals from Jose Luis daddy Brown, Jorge Valdano, and Jorge Burruchaga.The national team defeated the tough German team 3-2.
He was the second Brazilian referee to direct a world final after Armando Cezar Coelhowho drove in the World Cup 1982 the decisive match between Italy and Germany, which the Azzurri won by 3 to 1.
Arppi and her children have a very good relationship with the Argentine community that lives in Santos. and in the city of São Paulo, to the point that they organized amateur matches and championships followed by a Brazilian barbecue.
Before the final on December 18 in Qatar 2022 between Argentina and France, Arppi said before a consultation telam que “I had not decided to support any team“because the way of thinking inherited from his profession as a referee appears.
“With Diego I never had a problem in that final. He obviously asked me for the time when the game was ending and the Germans came and asked me to continue for more minutes, not to finish it. On the contrary, Maradona was always the one who had problems because of the violence they used against him, we charged for the fouls because they hit him a lot“He said on that occasion.
For Arppi, the refereeing career had been a kind of blessing since he would be able to direct almost the entire career of Pelé in Santos and Maradona in the 1986 Mexico final. “For me the two must divide the throne of the greatest“, used to say.
Source: Telam
