Rudi Glöckner

Rudolf Glöckner, known as Rudi, was an East German football referee. He was the first German to referee a FIFA World Cup final when he took charge of the 1970 match between Brazil and Italy held in Mexico City, despite not having much previous international experience and speaking only German.

Glöckner nevertheless enjoyed a solid refereeing career, officiating football matches at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and at the 1972 Munchen Olympics and those of the 1972 European Football Championship in Belgium, where he officiated the semi-final between the Soviet Union and Hungary in Antwerpen. At the World Cup, in addition to the 1970 final, he directed Italy-Uruguay in Puebla City, Mexico in the same tournament and Poland-Yugoslavia in Frankfurt four years later.

His list of achievements also included the direction of one Intercontinental Cup final in 1970 in Buenos Aires, between Estudiantes and Feyenoord, two UEFA Cup finals (in 1971 Leeds United-Juventus FC and in 1976 Bruges-Liverpool) and a final of the European Super Cup in 1974 between Ajax Amsterdam and AC Milan. Glöckner officiated a total of 107 international games as a FIFA referee for the GDR, including 24 senior international matches.

After his refereeing career ended, Rudi Glöckner remained connected to the sport as an organizer of football tournaments and as an official in various referee commissions, including those of UEFA and the DFB, the German Football Federation.