Serie A Referee Designator Gianluca Rocchi: “I’m Very Happy With Mariani’s Approach In Inter Vs Juventus”

Serie A Referee Gianluca Rocchi was happy with referee Maurizio Mariani’s performance in the draw between Inter and Juventus at the San Siro yesterday evening.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Radio Anch’io Lo Sport, the official defended the referee’s decision and the use of VAR in the match, and suggested that the match had flowed well thanks to the officiating of Mariani and his team.

Inter were left frustrated after a late penalty awarded with advice from the VAR meant that they were unable to take all three points from the head-to-head clash with the Bianconeri after they had led for much of the counter.

There had been few refereeing talking points prior to the controversial penalty, but the use of VAR for an incident which did not necessarily appear to be a clear penalty led to anger from the Nerazzurri players and staff.

However, Rocchi feels that Mariani and his team did well and that the way that the match was handled can serve as a model for refereeing in Serie A more broadly.

“I am satisfied with yesterday, for me it was excellent,” he said. “We are witnessing beautiful matches and if they are, perhaps it is also thanks to us. This year with the return of fans and a competitive league it is more difficult to referee, but we made the choice of a young group.”

He went on that “Yesterday we had Mariani and Massa who are international quality but are still growing. I’m happy with how they approached the match and we have to continue like this.”

“I hope there is the will to wait for these guys because we will make mistakes but the important thing is to understand that we need strong, new, structured referees. I want and expect that we decide on the pitch and for this I will always defend them,” he said of the officials.

On VAR he said, VAR has certainly brought benefits to us. Like all things in the first and second year there was more satisfaction because we removed many mistakes. There are almost no more offside goals, so that’s welcome. It is clear that it is a machine that needs to be oiled and that it will have a lot of development.”

“I am convinced we will eventually see a different VAR,” he concluded. “I repeat that I want referees to come back to decide on the pitch. We will improve this, but the referee who decides is a guarantee for everyone.”