Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is missing Italy and the cause is the officiating. ‘I don’t like 80% of Premier League referees. England is the only country where with VAR you are not sure the decision is right.’
The Seagulls were held 1-1 by Sheffield United over the weekend after going down to 10 men for the Mahmoud Dahoud red card.
De Zerbi’s protests at the decision saw him shown a yellow card too, prompting an angry response in the press conference.
“I am honest and clear, I don’t like 80% of English referees. That isn’t a new opinion. I don’t like them. I don’t like their behaviour on the pitch,” said the former Benevento and Sassuolo coach.
“England is the only country where when there is VAR, you are not sure that the decision is right. In other countries, you have to be sure 100% that the decision taken is right. In England, no, and I am not able to understand.”
There has certainly also been controversy in Italy regarding the officiating and VAR, but steps are being taken to be ever more transparent.
For the last few weeks, the chief designator Gianluca Rocchi has held a weekly ‘lesson’ on DAZN television to outline incidents from the previous round in Serie A.
It airs the audio of the discussion between the referee and VAR, showing the footage that was examined from various angles and why certain decisions or interpretations were made.