View source for Kim Milton Nielsen

{{short description|Danish football referee}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox football official
| name                = Kim Milton Nielsen
| image               = Kim-milton-nielsen.jpg
| caption             = 
| fullname            = Kim Milton Nielsen
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1960|08|03|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Copenhagen]], Denmark
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| otheroccupation     = [[Information technology management|IT manager]]
| years1              = 1975–2006
| league1             = [[Danish Football Association|DBU]]
| role1               = Referee
| internationalyears1 = 1988–2005
| confederation1      = [[FIFA International Referees List|FIFA–listed]]
| internationalrole1  = Referee
| internationalyears2 = 
| confederation2      = 
| internationalrole2  = 
}}

'''Kim Milton Nielsen''' ({{IPA|da|ˈkem ˈmiltn̩ ˈne̝l.sn̩}}; born 3 August 1960) is a Danish former international [[Referee (association football)|football referee]].  An [[Information technology|IT]] manager by trade,<ref name="krop-fysik">{{in lang|da}} Jesper Victor Larsen, [http://krop-fysik.dcmedia.dk/Artikel_singleview.122+M59f72655c6d.0.html Kim Milton Nielsen: Ham i sort!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016091947/http://krop-fysik.dcmedia.dk/Artikel_singleview.122+M59f72655c6d.0.html |date=16 October 2006 }}, ''Krop & Sport'', vol. 2, 2006</ref> Nielsen is noted for his impressive height of 1.96 m, making him taller than most players. Nielsen began refereeing at 15 years of age, as he wanted to know the [[Laws of the Game (association football)|Laws of Football]].<ref name="krop-fysik"/> A decade later, he began taking charge of Danish top-flight games, and he was awarded his [[FIFA]] international badge in 1988 when he was still in his late 20s.

His career includes 154 internationals and 53 [[UEFA Champions League]] games.<ref name="krop-fysik"/> In 1993, he earned his first major [[UEFA]] call-up for the [[UEFA Super Cup]] first leg between [[SV Werder Bremen]] and [[FC Barcelona]]. An appointment for a final followed the next year - the 1994 [[UEFA Cup]] final first leg between [[FC Red Bull Salzburg|SV Austria Salzburg]] and [[Internazionale Milano F.C.|Inter Milan]].

Nielsen refereed the [[Russia national football team|Russia]]-[[Germany national football team|Germany]] match at [[1996 European Football Championship|UEFA Euro 96]] in England, and followed this up with duty at the [[1998 FIFA World Cup]] in France. He took charge of two matches, including the clash between [[England national football team|England]] and [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] in [[Saint-Étienne]], where he is remembered for sending off England's [[David Beckham]] for kicking out at Argentina's [[Diego Simeone]] after the Argentinian had fouled him. England went on to lose the match on penalties, and Beckham was blamed and vilified by the English [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloids]] for causing the loss as a result of his sending-off. He was noted as the newsmaker of June 1998 on the [[BBC]] website where he gave his thoughts about the match and Beckham's sending off.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/12/98/review_of_98/newsmakers/233322.stm June: The England-Argentina referee], ''[[BBC News]]'', 22 December 1998</ref>

At [[2000 European Football Championship|UEFA Euro 2000]], Nielsen was put in charge of the Germany-[[Romania national football team|Romania]] and [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]]-[[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] encounters, although the latter match ended in disappointment as he was forced out of the competition with a leg injury.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/euro2000/798852.stm Referee Nielsen forced out of finals], ''[[BBC Sport]]'', 20 June 2000</ref> He was replaced by [[Günter Benkö]]. He got to officiate another prestigious match as he was named as the referee of [[2001 Intercontinental Cup]] between [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] and [[Boca Juniors]], which ended in a victory for Bayern after extra time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bayern München 1-0 a.e.t. Boca Juniors :: Intercontinental Cup 2001 :: Match Events |url=https://www.soccerzz.com/match_referee.php?id=110636 |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=soccerzz.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Guardian Staff |date=2001-11-27 |title=Bayern clinch World Club Cup |url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/nov/27/newsstory.sport4 |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] represented another milestone, as he officiated the semi-final between [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] and [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]].

He received another accolade after being appointed as the referee for the [[2004 UEFA Champions League Final]] between [[AS Monaco FC|AS Monaco]] and [[FC Porto|Porto]] at the [[Veltins-Arena|Arena AufSchalke]] in [[Gelsenkirchen]]. He was on duty in [[Portugal]] as one of the 12 [[UEFA Euro 2004]] referees.

After his performance during the [[2004–05 UEFA Champions League]] quarter-finals between [[PSV Eindhoven]] and [[Olympique Lyonnais]], Lyon's president [[Jean-Michel Aulas]] complained about different gifts and accolades Nielsen allegedly received from Dutch officials.<ref>[http://www.leparisien.fr/sports/aulas-accuse-15-04-2005-2005868590.php "Aulas accuse !"] ''[[Le Parisien]]'', 15 April 2005</ref>

In a [[2005–06 UEFA Champions League group stage]] match between Spanish side [[Villarreal CF|Villarreal]] and [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], Nielsen showed a second yellow card, sending off Manchester United's [[Wayne Rooney]] for sarcastically clapping in his face after he had initially been shown a yellow card. 'Even sarcastic play is not allowed, the referee cannot accept that,' Nielsen said of his decision to [[BBC Radio 5 Live]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4235276.stm Nielsen stands by Rooney red card], ''[[BBC Sport]]'', 16 September 2005</ref>

In 2005, Nielsen reached the then-FIFA regulated age limit of 45. He ended his refereeing career on 16 May 2006, following the last game of the [[Danish Superliga]] championship.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050425233454/http://2002.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/02/en/t/rf/28272.html 2002 FIFA World Cup profile]

{{UEFA Euro 1996 referees}}
{{1998 FIFA World Cup referees}}
{{UEFA Euro 2000 referees}}
{{2002 FIFA World Cup referees}}
{{UEFA Euro 2004 referees}}
{{UEFA Champions League Final referees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Kim Milton}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Danish football referees]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup referees]]
[[Category:2002 FIFA World Cup referees]]
[[Category:People from Copenhagen]]
[[Category:UEFA Champions League referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1996 referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2000 referees]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2004 referees]]