Italy's Roberto Rosetti has been voted best referee in the world for 2008 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
The recognition came five years after Pierluigi Collina was tapped best ref for an unprecedented sixth year in a row.
Rosetti came out on top ahead of his European colleagues Lubos Michel of Slovakia and Belgian Franck De Bleeckere.
In compiling its rankings for 2008, the IFFHS also placed Italy's Serie A second after England's Premier League in the category of best first division championship.
Argentina's first division placed third and Spain's Liga was fourth.
