Serie A had zero penalties or VAR reviews for first 31 games | OneFootball

It took until the 32nd match of the Serie A season for the first penalty to be awarded, using the first VAR On-Field Review, and the 34th match before a spot-kick was converted.

The AIA (Italian Referees Association) had warned everyone it was going into the 2026/27 campaign laying down new guidelines after years of criticism that there were too many stoppages, too many weak penalties and red cards.

MILAN, ITALY – AUGUST 22: Referee Livio Marinelli looks on during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Monza at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on August 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

While VAR was thoroughly embraced by Italian football a lot more than elsewhere, the complaint was that too many incidents were being zoomed in and judged on slow-motion replays rather than taking into account the speed and intensity of the match in context.

Serie A transformed refereeing standards

PISA, ITALY – MARCH 2: General view of the VAR monitor inside the Arena Garibaldi stadium in Pisa during the Serie A match between Pisa SC and Bologna FC 1909 at Arena Garibaldi on March 2, 2026 in Pisa, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

It has certainly been a shift in evaluation, because the first 31 matches in Serie A this season had not a single penalty awarded, nor a VAR On-Field Review recommended.

Arguably, the handball incident during Genoa’s 1-1 draw with Frosinone falls under the remit of situations considered not clear and obvious errors, as the hand wasn’t visibly moving towards the ball.

It didn’t matter anyway, because after it was awarded, Lorenzo Colombo promptly side-footed the penalty wide of the target for Genoa.

BERGAMO, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Daniel Maldini of Cagliari Calcio scores their team’s second from the penalty spot goal during the Serie A match between Atalanta BC and Parma Calcio at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia on September 12, 2026 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

We had to wait until the 34th match of the campaign to see a spot-kick converted, with Daniel Maldini scoring against his parent club Atalanta for the 2-1 Cagliari victory.

That was also for handball, although in this case the referee spotted the Sead Kolasinac flailing arm above the head in real time.

ROME, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 12: Nuno Tavares of SS Lazio competes for the ball with Ruben Loftus-Cheek of AC Milan during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on September 12, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Serie A is standing apart from the crowd with this new attitude, and some worry they might’ve over-corrected.

After all, LaLiga saw 13 penalties awarded in the opening 30 matches, nine in Ligue 1, five in the Premier League, and just one in the Bundesliga.