Refereeing designator Nicola Rizzoli admits “the first two-three Serie A rounds were unsatisfactory,” including six errors despite using VAR.
Rizzoli spoke to Sky Sport Italia after the opening seven games of the season, which has seen a surge in penalties awarded for handball.
“The first two-three Serie A rounds were unsatisfactory in terms of refereeing performance, but then we got back on track. The change in the rules also created some difficulties for us in the early games.
“Looking at the statistics, there was intervention from technology only once every two games, which is very different to what we saw last season. Our objective is for VAR to intervene as little as possible.
“There are six errors ascertained with the use of technology, so just over one per cent of the total. Let’s not forget, VAR can never entirely cancel errors 100 per cent of the time.”
Rizzoli was asked which of these six decisions made with the aid of VAR were incorrect.
“You know them, because we’ve already discussed these incidents and we never hid that, because talking about it means we are working to improve.
“There will always be controversy, because despite the new rules allowing a more objective approach, the evaluation of movement and situations will always ultimately create some debate.”
There have been complaints that the VAR checks for offside take far too long, leading to long lulls in the game.
“The technology is progressing in leaps and bounds, but we will always need linesmen. In future, however, they will be increasingly useful on technical situations and less on offside.”
Rizzoli commented on the possibility of using female referees in men’s Serie A games.
“It’ll happen when someone deserves the chance to officiate in Serie A. We’ll get there, but it will always be a meritocracy.”