Finnish football is in mourning following the death of Katriina Elovirta at the age of 57 after a long illness.
A midfielder who won three domestic titles and a Finnish Cup with Helsinki United and predecessor clubs KNF and PP-Futis, Elovirta made nine senior international appearances for Finland and – after ending her playing days – enjoyed a more high-profile spell as a referee. She officiated at the 1997 and 2001 UEFA Women’s European Championship and the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cups, and refereed the inaugural UEFA Women’s Cup final in 2002, where FFC Frankfurt beat Umeå 2-0.
More recently, she had been working for the Finnish Football Association (SPL-FBF) as development manager. “She had a long and outstanding domestic and international career as a player and referee and will be deeply missed by the whole Finnish football family,” said SPL-FBF general secretary Marco Casagrande.
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