Official: Orsato appointed as Serie A’s new referee designator replacing Rocchi | OneFootball

Daniele Orsato has officially been appointed as the new referee designator for Serie A and Serie B for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons, the AIA have confirmed.

Official: Orsato is Serie A’s new referee designator

Orsato is the replacement for Gianluca Rocchi, who suspended himself back in April after he was placed under investigation for his alleged involvement in sporting fraud and amidst allegations that he had influenced certain VAR decisions. Dino Tommasi has been serving as the interim refereeing chief in the three months since then.

Orsato, 50, is a retired referee who took charge of 290 Serie A matches across his officiating career. His most high-profile match came in the 2020 Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

He also took charge of the 2024 Champions League semi-final second leg between PSG and Borussia Dortmund, and the 2022 World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia. Orsato took charge of his final Serie A match, between Atalanta and Fiorentina, on June 2, 2024.

He served as the AIA (Italian refereeing association) commissioner for the development of refereeing talent from January 2025 and as the referee designator of Serie C for the 2025-26 season.

Nicola Rizzoli and Daniele Doveri were among the alternative options to Orsato for the role of Serie A and Serie B referee designator. Doveri, 48, will instead continue to referee for another season.

Nicola Ayroldi will serve as the referee designator for Serie C.