Orsato meets with Serie A coaches: "VAR only intervenes if the referee doesn't see it."

A full hour of discussion to review the most controversial incidents of recent weeks and establish a common approach to refereeing. In Lissone, at the IBC headquarters, Daniele Orsato met with Serie A coaches for a lengthy analysis session, attended by representatives of the AIA (Italian Football Association), the A and B Committees, and Lega Serie A President Ezio Simonelli.

Nearly all the coaches attended the meeting, during which footage of around twenty incidents was shown, including penalties, contact, handballs, and situations reviewed by VAR. "Aren't you asking anything? Questions? Should I be worried..." Orsato joked at the start of the meeting, before delving into the details of the individual actions.

The Rowe case: "It was a penalty."

Among the incidents addressed first was one of the most clearly recognized errors. In Juventus-Atalanta, Rowe's holding of the shirt was deemed a penalty. Referee Zufferli failed to detect the foul, and according to Orsato's assessment, VAR Marini should have intervened.

The referee's designator acknowledged the error without hesitation, also linking it to another incident discussed in the refereeing meetings, the Fiorentina-Pisa match in the Coppa Italia, where Caracciolo's hold on Pellegrino was deemed a penalty but not penalized. Simonelli then cited a statement Orsato made during the meeting: "I'm not angry about the mistake, but if it were to happen again, I would be."

The other episodes under the lens

Among the situations analyzed was Genoa-Napoli, with De Bruyne's push on Vasquez considered a circumstance left to the discretion of referee Di Bello, who saw the contact and chose not to intervene.

A penalty was awarded for Vlasic's handball in Torino-Milan. The same verdict was awarded for Lucchesi's touch in Torino-Monza in the Coppa Italia, with one important difference: in that case, the VAR intervention that had led to the cancellation of the penalty initially awarded to Torino was ruled incorrect.

No penalty was deemed necessary for the contact between De Winter and Kolo Muani in Juventus-Milan, which was deemed regular. No penalties were awarded for the contact between Gagliardini and N'Dri in Cagliari-Lecce, nor for Alajbegovic and Keita in Parma-Juventus.

Fiorentina-Frosinone, two VAR cases

Particular attention was also paid to Fiorentina-Frosinone. Dragusin's hold on Monterisi was deemed a penalty and, since it wasn't detected on the pitch, should have been corrected by VAR.

The same principle applies to Jimenez's double punch, which is considered another incident in which technology should have intervened to correct the decision made on the pitch.

The assessment of Lobotka's alleged handball differed. Orsato confirmed what had already emerged in the hours following the incident: the available images from various angles did not allow for sufficient certainty as to whether the Napoli midfielder had actually touched the ball with his arm.

"Sovereign field" and the centrality of the referee

In the Como-Parma match, the contact between Caqueret and Britschgi was deemed worthy of a red card. More recently, in the Bologna-Turin match, Heggem and Oristanio were involved in a disputed contact, which referee Guida had observed and assessed directly.

Hence Orsato's reference to the principle of a "sovereign field," with the referee's position being considered crucial to the quality of decisions. "The referee runs a lot, he has to be perfectly positioned and be an athlete, have courage, and my goal is to bring them to a high level," the referee explained.

The new line on the Var

One of the key points of the meeting concerned the limits of technological intervention. "VAR only intervenes if the referee hasn't seen it," Orsato reiterated, thus emphasizing the role of technology as a support tool, without turning it into a tool designed to systematically replace the referee's judgment.

During the meeting, a comparison with the Premier League regarding the number of fouls called was also discussed. In Serie A, stoppages are lower, and this has been linked to greater continuity of play.

The Lissone meeting concluded on a positive note. Rino Gattuso, coach of league-leading Lazio, called the meeting "very useful." This face-to-face meeting between referees and coaches was designed to address mistakes, clarify interpretations, and improve consistency in the league's interpretation of incidents.