Serie A referee-designator is well aware that Juan Luca Sacchi made a major error with his whistle that disallowed Inter’s goal against Monza over the weekend, but won’t suspend the official.
Speaking at the unveiling of the new semi-automatic VAR offside system, as reported by FCInterNews, Sacchi both acknowledged the error and also defended Sacchi, and also praised Inter coach Simone Inzaghi and his Napoli counterpart Luciano Spalletti for not making an issue of Simone Sozza’s appointment to their match last week.
Inter felt very hard done by after an incorrect and premature whistle by Sacchi denied them a third goal, which could well have sealed three points, against Monza on Saturday.
The official has apologized, and Rocchi has echoed this apology, although he feels that at the end of the day mistakes are a part of life.
The referee-designator noted that “Waiting for play to develop the basis for everything, although curbing the instinct to whistle for fouls is difficult.”
“But it’s crucial to do so, with VAR, because whilst raising a flag is an intervention that interrupts play it can be reversed, a whistle cannot.”
“If the whistle is blown, then the protocol does not allow the VAR to intervene,” he noted.
“What happened in Monza was a mistake.”
“Nevertheless, I have no plans to suspend Sacchi,” the referee-designator made clear, “everyone makes mistakes.”
Rocchi also praised Inzaghi and Spalletti, noting that “I have to thank them for not making more of an issue of the appointment of Simone Sozza for their match.”
“I think that if they’d stoked controversy with his appointment, it would have become much more difficult for him to officiate the match,” he noted.
