FIGC President Gabriele Gravina has informally reacted to refereeing errors during France-Italy at the U21 EURO and multiple sources in Italy claim UEFA will introduce VAR and goal-line technology from the quarter-finals.
The Azzurrini faced a 2-1 loss against France in the opening match of the U21 EURO on Thursday night, but decisions of Dutch referee Allard Lindhout infuriated coach Paolo Nicolato and his boys.
Lindhout didn’t see a foul on Caleb Okoli in the build-up of France’s winner and had previously ignored a clear handball of Milan defender Pierre Kalulu inside the Blues’ box.
However, the most obvious error was a ghost goal scored by Raoul Bellanova in the stoppages. The former Inter defender had effectively scored, but neither the referee nor his assistant had seen the ball crossing the line.
There is no VAR and no goal-line technology at the U21 EURO, but multiple sources in Italy, including Sky and Gazzetta, claim UEFA will introduce them from the quarter-finals of the competition.
The FIGC didn’t react with an official statement, but Sky Sport and other Italian media revealed the Italian FA stance on Friday afternoon.
“Gravina believes the U21 EURO can no longer be considered a youth tournament and argues that the error had a huge impact on such a big competition,” said Sky.
“Consequently, the commitment of the [Italian] federation will be to raise awareness of UEFA for future competitions.”
Gravina was appointed as UEFA’s vice president this past April.