The Italian Referees Association has decided to launch a course to train new or returning referees to become VAR specialists following a number of complaints regarding decisions this season.
Many decisions affecting top Serie A clubs have come under fire this campaign due to poor or incorrect usage of the Video Assistant Referee system, such as the missed penalty on Andrea Belotti in Torino’s draw with Inter or Destiny Udogie’s hand ball goal scored against Milan.
As highlighted by Calciomercato.com, referee designator Gianluca Rocchi has shared his thoughts on the situation and announced that a new specialist course will be launched.
“If the referee brings with him the attitude he has on the pitch, he makes a mistake. Precisely for this reason a team of only Varistas will be born.
“They could be found among those who have stopped or also among younger people who show to have the right characteristics.
“We want to train referees on the European model. Fouls whistled, cautions and penalties awarded in line with the Champions League.”
Italian football is therefore ready to embark on a new path to try and reduce the number of officiating mistakes as much as possible. The new courses at Coverciano will start from July and it’s currently unclear how long they’ll take to complete.
Officiating is always a divisive topic in football and so the better trained the VAR team are, the more accurate decisions will be made.