Referees, De Santis: “Standards high until 2006, now much lower” | OneFootball

Massimo De Santis, former Serie A referee from 1995 to 2006, comments on possible reforms of the refereeing class and the decline in the technical and behavioral level of Italian referees.

Referees, De Santis: “Until 2006, a highly respected refereeing class, today the level has dropped significantly”

The next season could mark a significant change for Italian referees, with the creation of a company to professionalize referees and make the CAN (National Referees Commission) independent.

De Santis, interviewed by TMW Radio, emphasizes the need for a complete restructuring of the AIA (Italian Referees Association) before any autonomy:

“The AIA is obsolete, various internal conflicts have led to this situation. If autonomy were to be given to the AIA, it would still need to be completely restructured first.”

The role of the FIGC and clubs

According to De Santis, the FIGC has a greater influence in the choice of selectors, but clubs continue to express their opinions:

“Presidents have always had influence in the choice of the selector, and I see nothing wrong if a manager calls a referee to have a decision made on the field explained.”

With the new organization, the way referees receive compensation would also change:

“Today the money still always comes from the leagues, rather than the federation. If I were still a referee, I wouldn’t let myself be influenced by who pays me, but I would simply do my job as best as possible.”

The level of Italian referees today

De Santis does not hold back criticism of the current level of the refereeing class:

“Until 2006, we had a highly respected refereeing class, whereas now the refereeing level has dropped significantly, especially in terms of personality and approach to the player. The training path for referees needs to be improved.”

The former referee highlights how training and character preparation are essential to bringing Italian referees back to levels of excellence.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.