Refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi and AIA President Alfredo Trentalange hit out at Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri for his ‘unacceptable’ comments about referees, but Jose Mourinho at Roma was ‘trying to distract’ from their defeat.
Today was a packed one for the refereeing authorities, who held a press conference as the break for international duty comes to a close and Serie A resumes this weekend.
The focus was also brought back to comments that Sarri made following the recent defeat to Napoli.
“Either those in the VAR booth are bad at their jobs or the other alternative is very worrying,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.
“I also don’t see how all our players got booked in a game that was substantially calm. It’s like the referees saw us against Bologna, decided they were going to clamp down on us and made that clear from the start. These are the consequences.
“I think action needs to be taken, serious action needs to be taken by the refereeing hierarchy.”
President of the Italian Referees Association (AIA) Trentalange warned there will be consequences for Sarri.
“We consider this type of comment to be unacceptable, then after that the disciplinary commission will have its say.
“I understand that coaches can use this as a strategy for communication, which is again why it is not yet the time for referees to speak on television after games.”
Designator Rocchi agreed that what Sarri had suggested was beyond the usual snide statements about officials.
“It was one of the things that hurt the most, because I can accept someone saying we are bad at our jobs, but the alternative is frankly… the coach exaggerated. I know Sarri, he is Tuscan like me, but a phrase like that can put the whole football system into crisis.
“Our referees do not step onto the field with this in the back of their minds.”
Rocchi was more generous towards Mourinho on the Roma bench after a 4-0 defeat to Udinese.
“He is very intelligent. I won’t say exactly that he was trying to distract attention from their performance, but it was something along those lines.
“I just ask coaches to understand that when they express themselves that way on a referee, they just create even more tension.”