Serie A, VAR shake-up: only active referees could run it | OneFootball

The discussion on VAR management in Serie A returns to the forefront following the controversies after the match between Milan and Lazio. The incident involving VAR official Di Paolo, which will lead to official measures, risks becoming a turning point for the entire Italian refereeing system.

Serie A, VAR Revolution: The Proposal to Entrust It Only to Active Referees

According to today's edition of Il Corriere dello Sport, a new line of thought is emerging within the Refereeing Commission: to entrust VAR exclusively to field referees, thus sidelining former referees currently employed in the Lissone operations room.

Why a VAR Reform is Being Considered

In recent months, the refereeing sector has been overwhelmed by repeated errors, difficult-to-justify decisions, and inconsistent interpretations. The newspaper highlights how, among those making significant mistakes and those stumbling over even the most basic evaluations, the VAR category "is crumbling."

VAR, originally created as an added value to enhance the quality of refereeing decisions, is turning into a source of confusion. Increasingly, decisions made at the monitor are:

overly complicated

inconsistent from one match to another

tainted by rigid interpretations of a protocol described by insiders as "a maze"

A management deemed inadequate for the needs of contemporary Serie A.

The Quality Issue: "Those Who Were Not Skilled on the Field Are Also Not in Front of the Screen"

In the background published by the newspaper, a phrase circulating among refereeing officials emerges: "Those who were not skilled on the field will continue to be so even in front of a monitor."

This observation highlights a critical point: former referees, often placed in the VAR structure, may not be able to ensure the operational clarity and dynamic reading of the game that is more characteristic of referees still active.

Hence the idea: to reposition referees currently designated for Serie A matches, having them also rotate in the VAR position, ensuring more consistent decisions and a better connection with the field context.

"Clarity and Simplicity Needed": Towards a Less Cumbersome Protocol

Within the Commission, another strong need emerges: to simplify the protocol. "More clarity, more simplicity is needed: the protocol is a difficult maze to navigate," reads the piece in Corriere.

Today, VAR has become a rigid process, involving long times, conflicting interpretations, and continuous discussions. The proposed reform aims to follow two main lines:

Reducing intervention cases to limit overthinking by VAR operators.

Strengthening the role of the field referee, bringing their decision-making ability back to the forefront.

What Could Happen Now

The proposal for a VAR managed only by field referees is concrete but requires:

revision of designations

a new rotation structure

specific training for active referees

updating the technical protocol

It is possible that by early 2026, an experimental phase could begin, especially in less media-exposed competitions or in the early rounds of the return leg.

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