An anonymous Serie A referee has spoken out regarding inconsistencies in refereeing decisions in the league this season.
The unnamed official has given an interview to SportMediast program “Le Iene” via FCInterNews, arguing that there are double standards in the Italian Refereeing Association, and that it is harming the game.
Serie A has had a fair bit of refereeing controversy this season.
That is never too far from football. But it has arguably been as bad now as it has been in a long time.
Inter were at the controversy of one firestorm.
This came in their Serie A win over Hellas Verona earlier this month. That match saw the Nerazzurri score a late winner, despite an apparent foul in the buildup.
But that was far from the only big error.
There was also the penalty that Bologna did not receive in a match against Juventus, despite a seemingly clear foul.
And then there was the AC Milan winner against Genoa, coming after a clear handball by the goalscorer Christian Pulisic.
Unnamed Referee Speaks Out About Refereeing Inconsistencies In Serie A
An unnamed official has come forward to denounce not just the poor decisions, but also the milieu behind the scenes.
The referee spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He argued that the problem stems from a dysfunctional system for evaluating refereeing performances.
This official argues that the way that referees are evaluated in terms of their performances frequently has as much to do with “politics” as it does with objective evaluations.
And he has also suggested that this is risking harming the integrity and credibility of the Italian game.
The referee noted all three of the above-mentioned examples.
He also pointed to recent offside decisions – singling out the decision to allow goals by Juventus against Roma.
The official argues that the images that were used to demonstrate the attacking player being onside were “not convincing.”
He argues that the wrong frames may have been used.
And considering that all three involved the top three teams in the Serie A table – Inter, Juventus, and AC Milan – there is no doubt that these kinds of decisions could affect the title race.
And the unnamed official feels that things have gone too far. He feels that some of the recent errors have been too blatant to be allowable in an era when VAR has allowed a second look at clear and obvious mistakes.
He argues that these kinds of errors being prevalent “risks damging our football.”
Therefore, the unnamed referee feels that things have to change behind the scenes.
