Zoran Petrović (

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

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: Зоран Петровић; 10 April 1952 – 8 August 2024) was a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

referee.

Career

FIFA World Cup

At the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, Petrović refereed a total of four matches and served as linesman in two other matches. At the

1986 World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...

in Mexico, he was the main referee in the Iraq vs. Mexico group stage match, as well as in the Morocco vs. West Germany round of 16 contest. At the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

in Italy, Petrović was the main referee in the England vs. Netherlands group stage match, as well as in the Sweden vs. Costa Rica group stage match. At the same tournament he performed linesman duties at two more matches - the group stage match Austria vs. United States as well as the round of 16 contest Italy vs. Uruguay. Furthermore, Petrović refereed the 1992 UEFA Cup Final return leg match at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

that saw

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

take on

Torino Calcio Torino Football Club (), colloquially referred to as Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont that currently plays in the Serie A, the highest football league of Italy. Founded in 1906 as ''Foot-Ball Club Torin ...

J.League

After refereeing at two World Cups, Zoran Petrović signed a professional contract with the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

. He refereed matches in Japan's J. League from 1994 until 1997, with the added task of passing his experience and knowledge onto upstart Japanese referees being stipulated as one of his contractual obligations in the country. He won two Best Referee Awards, in 1994 and 1996.

Death

Petrović died on 8 August 2024, at the age of 72.In Memorian , Зоран Петровић

References

External sources

*
Zoran Petrović (referee)
' at WorldFootball.net
Profile
at Ogol. 1952 births 2024 deaths Serbian football referees 1990 FIFA World Cup referees 1986 FIFA World Cup referees Yugoslav football referees Sportspeople from Belgrade {{Serbia-footy-bio-stub