• Rizzoli, 40, has been Serie A referee since 2002
• Official criticised by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2010
The Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli will take charge of England's Group D Euro 2012 opening match against France. Rizzoli, 40, has been a Serie A referee since 2002, and ran the Europa League final between Atlético Madrid and Fulham in Hamburg in 2010.
Also that year Sir Alex Ferguson suggested Rizzoli had succumbed to player pressure during Manchester United's Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, after the official sent off Rafael.
"They got him sent off," Ferguson said. "Typical Germans. That sending off changed the game. I thought they were typical professionals in the way they saw the opportunity and forced the referee.
"He [Rafael] was having a marvellous game and it's a tragedy for him but the ref wasn't going to do anything until they forced him to get a card out. But we've seen that before from teams like that."
Uefa also announced on Thursday that it has appointed the Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai to handle Spain's opener against Italy in Gdansk on Sunday.
Bjorn Kuipers of the Netherlands will referee the late match in Group C between Croatia and Ireland in Poznan, while Ukraine's match against Sweden in Kiev will be refereed by Cuneyt Cakir of Turkey.
Amid concerns of racism in Ukraine stadiums, referees have been urged by the Uefa president Michel Platini to halt and even abandon matches if players are racially abused by fans. Read More
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