Alessandro Giallatini, the linesman in charge of Aston Villa’s 3-2 victory against RB Leipzig broke down in tears after the end of the match.
According to Birmingham Live, as the players and coaches shook hands in Germany, Giallatini was spotted sobbing and spending time with Leipzig boss, Marco Rose.
Even though Unai Emery’s side had won four of their last six Champions League games, Giallatini was seen crying in footage as the cameras moved around the field.
That’s because the 49-year-old’s final game as an assistant referee was Tuesday’s match. Working across the line in the 2020 Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich is one of Giallatini’s career highlights.
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“It was his last game, so that is why he was very emotional,” Rose confirmed in his post-match press conference. “I hope he was not sad and more happy about what he saw in his life and what he achieved as a referee. A nice story, a human story.”
The Italian linesman had overseen Villa’s most recent Champions League victory, which saw Ross Barkley’s deflected goal propel Emery’s team to third place in the standings and put them on track for automatic knockout qualification.
John McGinn completed a superb move from Villa to open the scoreline in the third minute of action.
Halfway through the first period, Lois Openda took full advantage of a defensive blunder to even the scoreline. Jhon Duran gave Villa the lead again in the second half.
Barkley came off the bench to score the game-winning goal with a huge deflection after Christopher Baumgartner had pegged the Villans back once more.
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