Orsato admits Serie A refereeing errors: ‘Superficiality, wrong positioning, wrong ideas’

CARDIFF, WALES - MARCH 26: Referee Daniele Orsato of Italy during the UEFA EURO 2024 Play-Offs semifinal match between Wales and Poland/Estonia at Cardiff City Stadium on March 26, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales. He will oversee PSG-BVB in 2023-24 UCL semi-final. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Daniele Orsato has defended the officiating approach taken in Serie A this season, rejecting the idea that it represents a personal doctrine while acknowledging that mistakes have been made.

Speaking to the press in Lissone, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the referees’ designator was asked about criticism that too few fouls are being given and that VAR has been too passive.

“There is no Orsato protocol or line of mine. We try to align with the requests of players and teams too, who I see are fairly satisfied, including after the last meeting,” he said. “The line is the one football wants: fouls have to be whistled, VAR has to intervene on clear and obvious errors. The players are responding commendably, the referees are giving their maximum and we are seeing fantastic matches.”

Serie A referee designator Orsato: ‘Five clear errors is too many’

He was less comfortable on the mistakes already logged this season in Serie A.

“We are behind because of the errors committed, we could have done better,” Orsato said. “There are side effects due to the speed of the game and we expected that. I expected more errors, but not these ones, they are errors of superficiality, of wrong positioning, of wrong ideas. On the clear mistakes made, I hope that with commitment and work they won’t happen again in future.”

On consistency in the grey areas, he could offer only reassurance about effort. “How can I guarantee it? I can only guarantee that we will work every day, and we do, trying to align as much as possible among ourselves. Teams and players want referees who whistle the same things at both ends. That’s the objective.”

Orsato also confirmed he will continue avoiding appointments involving Serie A referees from the same region as a club. “My idea is that a referee from the same section as a team becomes an external problem. It’s better to avoid it. That’s my idea and I think I’ll carry it through for the whole season.”

He was emphatic that the technology is not going anywhere in Serie A. “We will continue to use it so that it helps us make fewer mistakes. Getting to the point of not using it any more is madness. If we manage to use it less because correct decisions are made on the pitch, good. Otherwise we will use it to correct errors.”

The comments come after a fortnight in which refereeing has repeatedly been the story. Torino were furious at a penalty not awarded in their 1-1 draw at Bologna, with Gazzetta dello Sport running a piece headlined on VAR’s silence, while Inter’s meeting with Roma produced its own debate over a Lautaro Martinez incident that went unpunished.