A direct connection to the 17 Serie A stadiums, eight fixed stations (four for Serie B not yet operational), one monitoring room, 250 km of cable, including 65 km of fiber optics. The Serie A League today unveiled its brand-new VAR Center at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Lissone, just outside Milan.
A two-story building for a total of 2.400 square meters, built in record time in just 4 months thanks also to the collaboration of the Municipality of Brianza. Since the beginning of the championship, 30 people have worked permanently in this center, with peaks of 80 during matches. It is here that the referees designated for VAR arrive during matches to work in isolated rooms, a sort of comfort zone where they can make decisions in absolute serenity.
The presentation was attended by the president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina, of the Lega Serie A Paolo Dal Pino, of the AIA Alfredo Trentalange, the designator Gianluca Rocchi, the CEO of the Lega A Luigi De Siervo and the mayor of Lissone Concettina Monguzzi. A center entirely made in Italy, one of a kind. “With this centralized VAR Room we are entering a new era,” said Gravina during his speech. “It is a great pleasure, a dream come true,” added the number 1 of via Allegri.
“It is a structure that represents excellence in football, but I would say in Italian sport”. “The FIGC was the first in the world to launch the use of technology without losing the charm of football”, Gravina recalled. “In this way, referees can do their job without fear and abandoning sometimes specious prejudices”, he continued.
The VAR room “is a very innovative place that I hope will change the perception of the League, the championships and the seriousness with which the refereeing issue is addressed in the coming months and years,” Dal Pino said later. “It is a long-term vision that puts us ahead of other leagues in Europe,” he added, “no one has a VAR Room like ours.”
“The idea is to internalize a series of skills. The League is already autonomous, we are ready to create our content in the best way for all distribution channels”, declared the CEO De Siervo, also referring to the production center with which the League intends to reach the much-desired channel in its own right in the future. Satisfaction was also expressed by the president of Aia Trentalange and by the Serie A designator Rocchi. The centralized VAR Room “is a unique and incredible opportunity. In this way the referee can be put in a position to make fewer mistakes”, declared Trentalange.
“This is the future, there is no going back. On November 18th there will be a meeting here with all the referees to show them the center,” added Rocchi. With the refereeing leaders it was also an opportunity to take stock of the referees’ performance in these first days of the championship. “We can do better, I am satisfied with the commitment,” said Trentalange who then returned to one of his goals, that of having the referees speak after the games. “It is a dream of mine. I think we will get there gradually,” he said.
For his part, Rocchi dismissed the idea of a refereeing class that is refractory to using VAR. “It would be crazy to even think that a referee would refuse to go to VAR, if I found out that referee would no longer referee,” declared the referee designator. Finally, on the controversy over some cases from last weekend, he replied: “Since there have been episodes in which subjectivity was the main part, we must accept the fact that the referee evaluates it differently than the majority of people.” Not a small problem…
The Allegri-Oriali affair continues to generate controversy, and a very strong stance has been taken by FIGC president Gabriele Gravina. At the end of the Federal Council meeting, the Italian football leader bluntly addressed the altercation that occurred during the Italian Super Cup semifinal in Riyadh between the AC Milan coach and the Napoli team manager.
"Allegri-Oriali? We're talking about a terrible embarrassment," says Gravina. "Here we need to distinguish between the penalties imposed by the sporting regulations and those issued by the referee and the rules of conduct. This is a cultural issue." The federation president immediately broadens the discussion, pointing to a climate he calls degenerate. "We need to regain a sense of politeness. Abuse is becoming almost normal, the movements of the benches are unwatchable, and there's a belief that the more you shout, the more you can influence decisions on the pitch."
Gabriele Gravina brings order, sets limits, and reiterates priorities. At the FIGC Board meeting, which opened with a welcome to new directors Giorgio Chiellini and Antonio Gozzi, the federal president immediately clarified that postponing Serie A matches so close to the World Cup playoffs "is not a viable option." The national team will have to prepare differently, and the only viable window, he said, remains February: "There's hope of organizing a training camp midway through the month, and I seem to sense a positive attitude from the Serie A league."
The Council meeting also unanimously approved the new National Licensing Manual, which sets June 22, 2026, as the deadline for league registration and introduces a revision of the Extended Labor Cost indicator, set to drop from 0,8 to 0,7 by the 2026 summer transfer window. This step is designed to promote economic sustainability and investment in youth, with the decision to exclude the costs of Under-23 players from the calculation. Gravina emphasizes the value of youth development programs: "They represent fundamental assets, yet they are considered merely a cost. This is a strategic mistake: we need a radical change in investment culture."
The lapses in judgment by Gianluca Rocchi, the referee designator, and the bias of pseudo-commentators are also behind the controversy artfully fueled by the Northern Italian press and social media over the so-called "little penalty" awarded to Napoli against Inter in yesterday's 3-1 victory at the Maradona stadium. The football season…
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