Collina keeps cards close to chest

OUR celebrity-obsessed times are defined by strange idols. But even in a culture so empty, it hangs on the loose words of a glamour model, something about the iconic status of Pierluigi Collina doesn’t sit right.

Firstly, he’s a referee. Anyone with a remote association to football has questioned the eyesight of a referee at some stage. Secondly, well, he looks kind of strange. Collina lost all his hair in two weeks to alopecia when he was 24.

But, it is this very appearance that has been parlayed into fame. Now, Collina is arguably the best ref in the business and would have enjoyed a certain amount of fame, regardless of what he looked like. However, the Helix, DCU’s concession to modernity, wouldn’t have been buzzing as it was yesterday. Collina entrances people. Even girlfriends who have to suffer the long, boring nights of Champions League football take notice when Collina is admonishing a player. That stare. That scowl.