LISSONE – Given the obvious fouls in the penalty area, which the referees overlooked and VAR failed to intervene, it's fair to ask why video assistance wasn't used appropriately rather than sacrificing it for the sake of minimizing disruption to play. While the detection of fouls in other areas of the pitch is left to the referee's discretion, with VAR able to intervene in cases of serious misconduct, in the penalty area, the situation is quite different. A foul is a foul and prevents the attacker from moving forward. Three former referees, now commentators, have weighed in on the prolonged holding of Rowe by Juventus player Kalulu in the penalty area during Juventus-Atalanta. These are Marelli, Cesari, and Calvarese, who deemed the holding persistent and therefore punishable. All agree that VAR should have drawn the referee's attention and allowed him to assess the dynamics of the play. The fact is that Rowe had taken time out of Kalulu's game and, without the obvious hold on his shirt, would have been able to kick the ball from a favorable position. Thus, VAR, once a valuable ally, became a secondary element in match refereeing.
During the meeting between the Lega Calcio Serie A, the Italian Referees Association, and the 20 clubs in the top professional league, held at the VAR center in Lissone, referee designator Daniele Orsato reiterated that "the goal is to promote the game of football and not call even the slightest contact. This is a policy we will maintain until the end of the season." "We will work to avoid the few errors we've made, but we won't budge an inch on the technical approach we've adopted," added AIA technical director Domenico Messina. The problem is that, in the case of Kalulu's hold on Rowe, the shirt stretched by at least 50 centimeters. A lot. In fact, the incident was reported and is one of the errors committed in the first half of the season, around twenty of which were exposed and admitted as such, including missed red cards. On Saturday the 19th, the referee ruled that a foul was not committed in the penalty area by Bologna player Heggem on Torino striker Oristanio, and there were no signs of a foul from Lissone either. It's a fact that VAR rarely intervenes. In the first four Serie A matches, there has been only one on-field review, compared to six last season and eight in the previous two.
Yes, they reel off the data, which highlights the increase in the average effective playing time: 59'31", over 5'30" more than the last two seasons. Granted, but we know that the time needed by the referee for a pitchside review is made up. There are rules and they must be respected. A foul is a foul, and if committed in the penalty area, it's a penalty.
