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Nicolae Rainea (19 November 1933 – 1 April 2015[1]), nicknamed The Locomotive of the Carpathians, was a Romanian football referee and player. Among the most highly regarded referees of his generation, he is considered one of the best international officials of the 70s and 80s and, arguably, the finest Romanian referee of all time.[2]
Nicolae Rainea played football in the lower leagues of Romania for Laminorul Brăila, Metalul Piatra Neamț and Constructorul Bârlad, he retired in 1959 to start his career as a referee, making his debut in Liga I in 1965.[3][4] He refereed at three FIFA World Cups (1974, 1978, 1982), the UEFA Euro 1980 Final, the 1983 European Cup Final, the second leg of the 1978 European Super Cup and the second leg of the 1978 UEFA Cup Final.[5]
Rainea officiated the Italy v Argentina game at the 1982 World Cup. He was linesman in a later match between France and Northern Ireland.
Rainea was decorated by two presidents of Romania, Ion Iliescu and Traian Băsescu.[5] He was made honorary citizen of Galați where he resided and served four local council terms.[5]
Nicolae Rainea Stadium in Galați is named after him.
In 2011, he celebrated 50 years of marriage.[5] He had a son and a daughter, both living in Sweden.[5]
After an untreated mild cold turned into a pulmonary edema, Rainea suffered a cardiac arrest while in hospital and died on 1 April 2015 in Galați. He was 81 years old.[6]
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