Gianluca Rocchi, the designating referee, has shared his analysis on the controversial events from the football match between Genoa and Juve on the programme ‘Open Var’.
In a passionate defence of his colleagues, Rocchi stated, “Why do we need to stop a referee who has got 45 incidents right before making a mistake? On the subject of referee or VAR errors, it’s a notion we need to move past and I don’t want to hear it anymore.”. He was cited on the programme ‘Open Var’.
Rocchi did, however, acknowledge one significant mistake during the match. He stated that the clear error was the expulsion of Malinovskyi, and on this matter, Rocchi was notably firm. He insisted that anyone who endangers player safety should face severe consequences. “We can’t cut any slack,” he emphasised on ‘Open Var’.
The rest of the controversial incidents on the field, according to Rocchi, were potentially mishandled decisions, but were not clear errors. These statements were made on the show ‘Open Var’.
With these comments, Rocchi underlines the challenges faced by referees and how the occasional error should be seen against the backdrop of multiple correct decisions made under significant pressure.