Referees and controversy, Gianpaolo Calvarese goes down flat

Gianpaolo Calvarese doesn’t mince words

Refereeing decisions in several Italian league matches continue to cause discussion, most recently those related to Como-Juventus on Friday, Empoli-Milan on Saturday and Inter-Fiorentina on Monday. Gianpaolo Calvarese, active as a match director in Serie A and B between 2008 and 2021, did not mince words on the matter, speaking to the microphones of 'Kiss Kiss Napoli'.

"On the corner kick given to Inter there's nothing to interpret: the ball è went out and by a lot – commented Calvarese, who today analyzes for TV the most discussed refereeing decisions -. Instead, I try to give an interpretation to the error, to why it was made: the referee and linesman were too far away from where the ball è came out".

"With Open VAR è everything recorded,” he added, “there is no possibility of going off protocol through a 'silent check'. So it was impossible on the part of the VAR 'to suggest' to the referee that it was not corner. Having said that, on objective situations, VAR has to intervene, even if it is a corner kick from which a goal".

"Gatti’s hand foul? A difficult episode to evaluate – he then added, moving on to Como-Juve -. In fact, VAR and AVAR had different opinions. These are dynamics in which there'è a good deal of causality, such as the penalty (rightly) not awarded in Inter-Napoli for Olivera's touch. Even on second yellows the protocol should be rewritten, so as to avoid the error that occurred, for example, in Empoli-Milan".