Referees: Delvecchio officiates at the 2023 Beach Soccer Mundialito

Raffaele Delvecchio travelled to Andalusia, specifically to Isla Canela, after being appointed to the 2023 Beach Soccer Mundialito, staged in Spain. For the San Marino international, there was an assignment as first referee for Spain v USA (5-2), the second match of the women’s Mundialito, which saw the hosts crowned group winners with maximum points in a pool also featuring Portugal and England. The match between the Portuguese and the Lionesses, decided on penalties in favour of the former (3-3, 4-2 on pens), involved Delvecchio in the role of third referee. The referee from the Sammarinese Referees Association was also involved in the concurrent men’s tournament, where hot favourites Brazil lifted the trophy. In the comprehensive opening win for the Seleção (15-4 against Mexico), Delvecchio was appointed as second referee. The same role was assigned to him for United Arab Emirates v Mexico, narrowly won by the Middle Eastern side (5-4), who finished runners-up at the Mundialito. This was also thanks to their victory over Spain: La Roja, after a 4-4 draw in normal time, were beaten on penalties (4-3 to the UAE). In this latter fixture Delvecchio again served as third referee. The same applied to the match that sealed Brazil’s title, in their final game against Spain: probably the two strongest beach soccer national teams in the world put on a show in a clash decided 45 seconds from time by Brazilian Rodrigo – the star of this blockbuster encounter with a hat-trick to his name (7-6).

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