Pierluigi Collina insists he left UEFA ‘because it was time for a change’, despite suggesting the Champions League was wrong not to utilise VAR.
Collina stepped down from his role as UEFA’s chief refereeing officer at the start of August, and the 58-year-old explained his reasoning to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It was simply my choice because it was time for a change,” he told the newspaper.
“Did someone ask me to resign? On the contrary, UEFA asked me to reevaluate my decision and change my mind.
Pierluigi Collina insists he left UEFA ‘because it was time for a change’, despite suggesting the Champions League was wrong not to utilise VAR.
Collina stepped down from his role as UEFA’s chief refereeing officer at the start of August, and the 58-year-old explained his reasoning to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It was simply my choice because it was time for a change,” he told the newspaper.
“Did someone ask me to resign? On the contrary, UEFA asked me to reevaluate my decision and change my mind.
“No future without VAR? I don’t think so, partly because people wouldn’t understand. We live in an age where everything we do is based on the use of technology.
“We tried to reduce the number of errors with the human eye years ago with the goal-line referees.
“Back then technology wasn’t at today’s level of precision, and it continues to improve. Before the World Cup, we went from a 2D evaluation of offside to one in 3D, which allowed us to assess the position of a foot relative to a head more accurately.
“Did I want it in my time? No-one likes making mistakes or being criticised for errors.
“Off course, for those who are used to deciding for themselves it’s not easy, but we must be open to change.
“Ultimately, what matters is the final result.”
The Italian is widely considered to be the greatest referee of all time, taking charge of the 1999 Champions League Final and 2002 World Cup Final.