FRANK DESIMINI

Few men in the history of New Jersey’s soccer referee program were as busy as Frank Desimini.

Even fewer enjoyed as much success as a referee than Frank Desimini did.

Born in 1942 in a small town outside Bari, Italy, Frank quickly developed a deep love for the world’s most popular sport.

After moving to the U.S. in 1963 he launched an active playing career with teams around the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area, playing at various league levels through the 1971 season.

Frank and his wife Filomena, who still live in Hazlet, have been married 35 years. Their sons Angelo and Gaetano attended Syracuse University.

For the past 35 years Franks has been maintenance manager for Interstate Food in Elizabeth.

A top youth referee in New Jersey from 1972 to 1980. Frank officiated soccer at every level in the state. He was also the man in the middle for all the major indoor tournaments in the state and could always be found officiating the top league championship matches around the state.

Frank was a top referee in the American Soccer League and officiated in the North American League until its demise in the 1980s.

During the 1980s, he was also officiating top international matches in the U.S. as we as a host of national team matches.

Frank Desimini’s career as a referee included working over 3,000 games at all levels. Nominated five times by the NJSA to work FIFA matches, Frank’s first international experience was as a lineman with NJSA Hall of Fame referee Savino Calderaro for the Independence-Napoli match.

Frank’s final game as a referee was the Benfica-Vasco de Gama match played in the metropolitan area.