Rome, 10 February 2025 - Limit VAR to offside and goal-no-goal, introduce the possibility of Called by the teams and entrust the monitor to a former footballer: these are the proposals put forward by Massimo From Santis, former referee of Serie A, to address the current critical issues of the arbitration system.
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“I would change the protocol and keep VAR only on offside and goal-no goal. In addition, I would give teams two, maximum three call options each, as happens in other sports” De Santis declared, underlining how the excessive use of technology is compromising the autonomy of referees.
The former referee highlighted an increasingly evident problem in modern football: "With these rules, it is no longer clear whether a referee is truly capable of refereeing. We are witnessing an exaggerated series of errors, we need to get the referees back to making decisions on the field." De Santis then put forward an innovative proposal: to combine the VAR with a former footballer, a figure who could better interpret certain game dynamics and recognize any tricks by the players.
Yes to effective time: “Two 30-minute halves”
Another topic on which From Santis he expressed himself in favour of the introduction of the actual time, eliminating the discretion of recovery. “Removing the referee’s recovery time is a good idea, also because we often see incomprehensible recovery times. This would avoid further controversy. I would play two 30-minute halves, like in other sports.”
Article published on 10 February 2025 - 18:30
De Santis' ideas on VAR and real time are interesting, but I don't know if they are enough to solve all the problems of modern football. There are many other things that should be considered.