VAR Chaos in Florence; Fabrizio Biasin Adds Fuel to the Fire: “Let’s Close Lissone”

Major refereeing controversies marked the Fiorentina-Como match, and Fabrizio Biasin weighed in sharply on social media with a provocative comment that immediately sparked debate. The journalist commented on what happened at the “Franchi” in a Facebook post: “Another Serie A matchday with VAR culpably turned off. At this point, let’s just shut down Lissone—at least we’ll save on rent.”

The play that came under the microscope was, above all, Como’s goal scored by Liberali shortly after the half-hour mark of the first half. Fiorentina players, staff, and fans contested the contact between Kempf and Gonçalves at the start of the play, arguing that the referee should have at least consulted the VAR officials for a review.

The controversy, however, didn’t end with the first goal. On social media, numerous users argued that Nico Paz’s second goal was also marred by an infraction. The comments on Biasin’s post contain harsh criticism directed at the refereeing crew and the VAR room. “I’m watching Fiorentina vs. Como—referee error and a goal for Como… why didn’t VAR intervene?” writes one fan, while another adds fuel to the fire by talking about “two goals that should have been disallowed.”

As if that weren’t enough, tensions were further heightened by the incident involving Pongracic’s potential 2-2 equalizer for Fiorentina. The goal was disallowed for offside, but the review dragged on for several minutes due to technical issues with the semi-automatic offside system. This interminable wait further exasperated players, fans, and officials alike, contributing to the feeling that it was yet another particularly complicated day for the refereeing community.