The Italian Referees Association (AIA) announced an investigation into accusations by an anonymous official that there were ‘inexplicable’ VAR errors in Serie A this season and big clubs being favoured.
The interview hit the headlines in Italia 1 show Le Iene, who said the masked figure was a current Serie A referee determined to keep his anonymity.
“This season there have been many errors by the referees on the pitch and the VAR that are inexplicable, especially to those of us who work in this sector,” said the referee.
“If you have the clear footage in front of you and so many cameras on the action, how can you not realise the mistake made by the referee on the pitch?
“For example, the penalty not given to Bologna against Juventus, or the Christian Pulisic handball in Genoa–Milan, or the recent Alessandro Bastoni foul on Ondrej Duda in Inter–Verona just before the very controversial winning goal for Inter.
“In all these situations, inexplicably, it was both the referee on the pitch and the VAR who, despite having clear images at his disposal, decided to persevere down the path of the error that had been made.”
The decisions all went in favour of the bigger club in these scenarios mentioned and the official floated an interpretation.
“This situation has become unsustainable and is affecting the careers of many of us. The way a referee is evaluated decides whether he continues to officiate or not.
“If the evaluations depend on the dynamics, let’s say the political dynamics, then it risks falsifying the results of the league.
“Many of us have the very strong sensation that the grades we are given and whether we are promoted, relegated or dismissed at the end of the season, do not exclusively depend on our performances.
“If those who evaluate the referees are getting it wrong, are we sure that those who get a stronger career do so purely because they are better and those who are relegated are simply worse officials?”
The anonymous referee also pointed to the goal scored by Juventus against Roma, claiming the ‘frame’ chosen to trace the lines was a millisecond before the ball was actually released by Dusan Vlahovic and therefore inaccurate.
This is not the first time that the issue has been raised of referees being unhappy with the way the chiefs of the AIA grade their performances.
“There are currently at least five, between referees and assistant referees in Serie A and B, who are taking legal action to denounce the AIA for what we consider to be grave irregularities,” continued the anonymous figure.
“For example, those who make mistakes continue to officiate the next round, as if nothing had happened. The only real punishment for a referee is to take him off duty.”
The AIA responded initially with a statement calling the accusations “unacceptable and unfounded.”
Today the Referees Association along with FIGC President Gabriele Gravina announced legal action will be taken to investigate the claims.
“Italian referees represent an excellence recognised on the international stage,” said Gravina.
“An importance rejuvenation process has been launched and is working well, as out of 1,076 VAR checks so far in 206 games, the percentage of potential errors has been reduced by 91% and is now at a residual 0.84%.
“We also opened up transparency and information by bringing referees to the television screens. All these are concrete facts that are translated into important results and cannot be obscured by accusations that were launched without any genuine verification.”
The AIA is taking legal action against whoever was responsible for that interview with Le Iene.
Esposto della #FIGC per accertare la verità sul servizio de "Le Iene". L'#AIA presenta una querela contro ignoti. Leggi la news: https://t.co/uhaEGEMEYR #arbitri #calcio #sport pic.twitter.com/hdZv9QripG
— A.I.A. (@AIA_it) January 27, 2024