Gino D'Ippolito

~ NY 2019~

Gino, the only referee featured in a MSL Trading Card, was the official at Pelé's first and last games as a New York Cosmos player. He has officiated over 2,000 pro games and refereed international games in 29 countries. The world’s soccer stars from the late 1970s to the early '80s have played in games refereed by Gino. The native of Colledimezzo, Italy has been a Yonkers resident since 1951 and he has always found the time to help mentor referees of all levels.

It all started in 1963 when he was playing in a game and was unhappy with the referee’s performance. After the game, he told the referee how he felt about his officiating. The referee's response was, "If you think you could have done a better job, why don’t you become a referee yourself?" Gino did and the rest is soccer history.

Gino has refereed in virtually every soccer final the USA had to offer, including the NASL, American Soccer League (ASL), Major Soccer League (MSL) and Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). One championship game he did not officiate was the NCAA final, although he was assigned to do so twice, he could not accept due to contractual obligations with the NASL. He was chosen to referee in the 1980 Moscow Olympics in the USSR, but a boycott of the games by the USA kept him from his dream of officiating in the Olympics.

As a NISOA official, Gino shared his passion, dedication, and commitment to the development of college officials. His perseverance, integrity, and people-loving nature are just a few of his qualities that continue to inspire us all.

In an officiating career that has spanned more than five decades, Gino accumulated over 600 NASL games from 1968 until the league's final season in 1984, over 1,500 pro indoor games from 1978 to 2001, hundreds of intercollegiate and high school games, after traveling to 29 nations, as well as 15 World Cup qualifiers for the 1978, 1982, and 1986 World Cups.