Refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi fully admits the early whistle that ruled out VAR for Inter’s disallowed goal against Monza was ‘an accident’ more than a mistake and the official will be ‘benched.’
The incident dominated coverage of the 2-2 draw at the weekend, as Francesco Acerbi nodded in a free kick that would’ve put Inter 3-1 up at the time.
Referee Juan Luca Sacchi had blown the whistle early for a Roberto Gagliardini push on Pablo Mari, but replays showed two Monza players had in fact tripped each other up.
As play had been stopped before the ball went into the net, VAR could not intervene to rectify the mistake.
“What happened was an accident, let’s put it in that category,” declared refereeing designator and former official Rocchi in a press conference.
There have been reports that Sacchi will be penalised with a suspension, which Inter were hinting at, but Rocchi again tried to reframe the situation.
“We are not suspending anyone unless they break the disciplinary code. So Sacchi might be benched for a bit, but that isn’t a problem.
“I am convinced he will return stronger, just as Serra did.”
Marco Serra was the referee who made a similar hasty whistle – that time to give a free kick to Milan rather than play the advantage – before Junior Messias scored against Spezia in a game the Rossoneri went on to lose 2-1.
“You have to expect that when you use younger officials, they can lack experience. I wouldn’t call it an error so much as an incident.
“He will not be punished and might return sooner than you think. When I see that he is ready, I’ll send him back on the field.”