Refereeing chief Marcello Nicchi said Serie A officials have “set the example for the whole world” on using VAR technology.
VAR has been used in Serie A throughout this season and will now be adopted at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“It’s obvious that when talking about innovation, there are always some teething problems, but all the referees gave up on their vacation time to work hard and make sure we had VAR in place from the first day of the season,” AIA President Nicchi told Lady Radio.
Refereeing chief Marcello Nicchi said Serie A officials have “set the example for the whole world” on using VAR technology.
VAR has been used in Serie A throughout this season and will now be adopted at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“It’s obvious that when talking about innovation, there are always some teething problems, but all the referees gave up on their vacation time to work hard and make sure we had VAR in place from the first day of the season,” AIA President Nicchi told Lady Radio.
“Progress cannot be stopped and we will keep going forward. We recognise there have been some imperfections, but for the last five months Serie A have set the example for the whole world.
“Only today we received a request to send our referee to Doha so he can teach the local authorities about VAR. We won’t lower our guard, because there are still issues to be corrected, but I think technology provides that help to guarantee we do everything possible not to get decisions wrong.
“The fans are proving they accepted the technology and feel reassured by it. VAR is also a deterrent, as we have seen a marked decrease in the number of bookings for dissent and violent tackles are disappearing.”
A new approach in the World Cup, also used in last night’s 1-1 friendly draw between England and Italy at Wembley, will have the VAR footage on the big screens in the stadium.
Could that also be adopted in regular Serie A fixtures to help calm tension?
“Never say never, but why not? It would have to be in modern stadiums, where fans can comfortably watch games and the screens are suited to it.”