Maltese legendary referee Tonio Briguglio dies, aged 91

Maltese football was mourning the death of one of its legendary referees as Antonio Briguglio died, aged 91.

Antonio Briguglio is regarded as one of the best referees Maltese football has ever witnessed.

His no-nonsense approach earned him the respect of players, coaches and club administrators during a career that spanned almost three decades.  

For everyone associated with the ‘Beautiful Game’ Briguglio represented the highest benchmark one can aspire to in a refereeing career.

Briguglio started as referee in 1960 and remained as one of the MFA officials until 1986.

He enjoys the record of being one of the longest-standing international referees in Malta, having served UEFA and FIFA for 17 years.

In all, he was given 68 international appointments, with the first being the clash between Germany and Turkey where he acted as an assistant referee.

As regards, the Maltese football scene, Briguglio was one of the top referees in the top-tier of Maltese football and enjoys the record of being appointed the referee of the FA Trophy final for a record nine times.

In his last interview with Times of Malta last year, Briguglio had revealed the secret behind his successful refereeing career.

“My secret behind my success was that I was someone who did his job with the maximum of professionalism,” Briguglio said.

“I had great passion for my career as a referee and gave a lot of importance to my physical fitness, and that enabled me to always be close to the action on the pitch.”

Following his retirement, Briguglio was joined by fellow Maltese referees Joe Cassar Naudi and Paul Bonett and other European officials on the UEFA panel to upgrade the Laws of the Game for a four-year period.

Briguglio served as a referee not only in football but also in basketball.

Apart from his contribution in football and basketball, he was also the first president of the Federazzjoni Klabbs tal-Boċċi, was part of the administration of the Malta Table Tennis Federation and for 15 years was senior coach at SkolaSport, working with youngsters.

Briguglio’s sterling contribution to sport was rewarded in 2022 when he was awarded the Medal for Services to the Republic (Midalja għall-Qadi tar Repubblika).

 He was also inducted in the Hall of Fame of the Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sport.