Ezio Simonelli: “Yes to VAR on call.” And announces the start of Serie A 2025-2026

Ezio Simonelli in favor of VAR on call

Lega Serie A president Ezio Simonelli gave a lengthy interview to the microphones of Radio Anch'io Sport in which he è said he is in favor of the use of call-in VAR: "Absolutely sì. As a tennis fan, being able to call in case of doubt would be a positive development in my opinion. It would also give responsibility to the teams. I am in favor of that. We have not had a chance to discuss this issue in the assembly, but I think many presidents and coaches feel the same way as I do".

"I think the judgment on Var can only be positive,” he added. “All technologies that manage to improve transparency are welcome in the world of soccer. Like all technologies they need to be adapted with the thinking of the world. We are realizing that in some cases Var does not work well: in the episode of Tomori's ejection in Empoli-Milan there was a bug in the Var system. But this does not depend on us, it depends on the IFAB and its protocol. I know that on March 1 there will be a meeting to review the Var protocols. I hope that, like every year, the experience and mistakes that happen on the field are then prodromal to improve things".

So he announced the start of the new Serie A: "I can anticipate that, at 99%, the next championship will start on the weekend of August 23-24. We want to avoid soccer in Ferragosto".

Difficult, however, an 18-team Serie A: "I always leave the sovereigntyà to the Assembly to decide on certain issues. Some president, provocatively, would like to have an eight-team league. An 18-team league would mean four fewer games, forò it would also mean a less compelling league, less representative of all of Italy. The format change at the moment does not seem to me to be feasible any time soon. Other leagues such as Spain and England are also 20-team"