Gabriele Ciampi has done it all from performing at the White House, meeting the Pope, and now he can add officiating the GOAT of soccer, Lionel Messi. One month removed from when MLS began its 2024 season with replacement officials due to a strike, Ciampi looks back at his date with the LA Galaxy and Inter Miami.
The match ended 1-1, with a late goal by Lionel Messi, a red card, and a back story about referee Gabriele Ciampi, who is the son of Italian immigrants who migrated to the United States. Ciampi is not only a soccer referee but an accomplished composer.
Ciampi spoke with Bolavip about his life and the unique experience of being on the field as “the man in the middle” in a game which featured Lionel Messi and the star power of Inter Miami.
Bolavip: How did you get into refereeing, and how did MLS get in touch with you to fill in during the strike?
Gabriele Ciampi: I started refereeing football in Italy in 2004, I worked at a youth and regional level. In some Italian cities, refereeing is very dangerous, difficult, there is a lot of pressure, it requires a very specific mental preparation as well as an important level of fitness.
I have officiated over 400 official matches in my career, I have built my experience as a referee and as a man.
Refereeing is a great life experience, a constant learning that helps you grow. You don’t become a football referee for the money, it’s not an ordinary job… it’s a sport, a discipline that allows us to get to know ourselves better.
In Italy and Europe professional referees all have a second job, it’s totally normal. While I was refereeing, in addition to working in the piano field, I studied composition and conducting at the Conservatory of Rome and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Cinema at the Sapienza University of Rome.
After the difficult Covid period we all faced, I decided to try refereeing again, this time in America. The great Italian experience helped me to start again here in the United States and after the first matches at youth level, I was called up for the Generation Adidas Cup and then I started working under the PRO talent ID group.
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When PRO Referees called me to offer me a trial period in MLS, I accepted, knowing the great responsibility that my job had but, that at the same time, my European experience could help American football.
I really believe in Major League Soccer, a league that will soon become one of the most important in the world. Football in America is a young sport and therefore it takes time. For this reason, I accepted this proposal and tried to work as best as possible to serve the MLS.
The match between LA Galaxy and Inter Miami was a big game: for me it was a great satisfaction but at the same time a huge responsibility which however allowed me to prepare well for the match from a mental point of view.
BV: How was it like to interact with Messi? Did he say anything of note? Did you say anything to him?
Gabriele Ciampi and Lionel Messi
GC: I never interact with players before the game, during the warmup or inside the locker-room. During the match I am open to explaining any decisions I make.
During the match Messi and I talked, I explained some of my calls to him and he respectfully accepted them, as did the other players from both teams.
It is normal that during and after a football match there is some frustration among the players, it happens in almost all the most important and intense matches. The referee must work to prevent escalation and must understand when it is a matter of frustration or disrespect.
BV: How would you compare conducting an orchestra to a soccer game?
GC: There is an analogy between refereeing a football match and conducting an orchestra. I am a composer and conductor and I think the work is very similar, the management of the individual musicians must be optimal to guarantee a perfect performance. In a football match, match control is the priority to guarantee a great sporting show and protect all the players.
Referees and conductors seek empathy with the players and musicians but also harmony: a football team is based on individual players who together form a group; an orchestra is based on individual musicians who together give life to a composition. Both musicians and players arouse an emotion in the audience. Anything that arouses a strong emotion becomes pure art.
Gabriele Ciampi and the Pope.
BV: You met the Pope, performed at the White House, and now were face to face with Lionel Messi, I guess you hit the holy grail of Trifectas?
GC: Performing at the White House and meeting the Pope were two moments in my career I will never forget. The invitation to perform at the White House arrived in 2015. It’s incredible what can happen in America and at the same time I understood how much consideration there is in this country for Italian musicians. I was the first Italian composer to perform his own music at the White House.
Being able to referee in Major Soccer League is a very important result that thrilled me but let’s not forget that I have more than eight years of refereeing in Italy behind me, more than 400 matches and a lot of experience.
No referee, even the youngest and best among college and youth referees, could be able to officiate a match without long experience behind him. Experience takes time and is obtained with age and opportunity.
I think I have had great satisfaction in my musical and sporting career but this experience in MLS is only the beginning of hard preparatory work that will probably lead me to achieve other important goals. I will be happy to bring my experience to other professional leagues such as USL League 1 and Championship. I believe there is great potential for football in America. I saw very talented young footballers in USL who we will hear about soon.
I don’t think I’ve hit the holy grail, I think I’ve added an important piece to my experience, I’m ready to face new challenges and, as in music, the more important goals you reach the greater the preparation must be… writing music, conducting, and refereeing means being willing to study and learn for a lifetime!
*Edited for length
