UEFA Celebration Match

UEFA Celebration Match
Date13 March 2007
VenueOld Trafford, Manchester
RefereeMarkus Merk (Germany)
Attendance74,343

The UEFA Celebration Match was a football match played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 13 March 2007 as a celebration of both the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which laid the foundations for the European Union, and the first participation of Manchester United F.C. in UEFA competitions. Manchester United won the match 4–3 against a Europe XI managed by Italian World Cup-winning manager Marcello Lippi. All the hosts' goals came before half-time (two from Wayne Rooney, and one from Wes Brown and one from Cristiano Ronaldo), Florent Malouda scored for the Europe XI midway through the first half and El Hadji Diouf scored twice in the second.

The match was televised live on BBC Three in the United Kingdom and also streamed live via the BBC Online website. Proceeds from the match went to Manchester United's charity, the Manchester United Foundation; in total, £1.25 million was raised. The match was officiated by German referee Markus Merk, whose assistants came from three other European countries.