Nicosia: Italian Antonio Damato is the new President of the Refereeing Committee of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), as announced today, on the sidelines of a press conference in the presence of refereeing sponsor Wurth, by the President of CFA, Haris Loizides.
According to Cyprus News Agency, CFA states in a press release that Antonio Damato is one of the most important figures in Italian and European refereeing with extensive experience in the training and development of referees. Since 2024, he has held the position of Head of the Technical Refereeing Department of the Italian Football Federation, with the main responsibility of training and upgrading the skills of Italian Elite referees, emphasizing the implementation of VAR and developing the next generation of referees.
From 2019 to 2021, Damato was the president of the Serie C Refereeing Committee. In the 2023-2024 football season, he was a member of the Serie A Refereeing Committee. Since 2019, he has served as a UEFA Refereeing Observer and, since 2022, as a trainer in the “UEFA New International Referee Programme.”
From 2006 to 2018, Damato refereed matches in the first division of the Italian Championship, and from 2010 to 2016, he served as a first-class international referee. During the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 football seasons, he was awarded as the top Italian referee.
Damato is expected in Cyprus in the coming days to immediately assume his duties as President of the CFA Refereeing Committee.