Bird’s secret.. Why was the referee of the Saudi Arabia-Uruguay match wearing a pink shirt?

The Saudi Arabia-Uruguay match of the 2026 World Cup finals witnessed an exceptional and extraordinary event, the hero of which was the Italian referee Maurizio Mariani.

Mariani served the match, which ended in a 1-1 drawBetween the teams of Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, in the “Hard Rock” stadium of the American city of Miami, in the first round of the group stage.

The Italian referee, contrary to the usual, appeared in a pink jersey, in a scene that was not usual in the previous matches of the World Cup.

The decision was not on Mariani himself, as it was made by Italian FIFA president Pierluigi Collina due to the upcoming match in Miami.

In an earlier statement reported by ESPN, Colina said the Saudi Arabia-Uruguay referee will wear a pink shirt in honor of the city of Miami, which is associated with the color, which is the color of flamingos that are abundant there.

“Miami is our base camp, so we thought it would be good to show our appreciation for the city where we will be living for about two months,” explained the former Italian referee.

Remarkably, Mariani managed the match well in the absence of contentious refereeing cases, so each team got a point to fuel the clash with Spain and Cape Verde, who also drew in the first leg.