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There is a new referee scandal coming to gentle in Italy. In accordance to the more than one media experiences, Serie A and Serie B referee designator Gianluca Rocchi is beneath investigation for “participation in sports fraud” on suspicion of getting influenced Video Assistant Referee’s choices. 

The investigation is mute underway, with key foremost aspects and doable club involvement but to be clarified. Rocchi, who is in administration of assigning referees to the video games for both Serie A and Serie B, confirmed the news on Saturday: “This morning I received a notice of investigation. I am sure I have always acted correctly and I have full confidence in the judiciary,” Rocchi mentioned in a commentary to ANSA, the Italian predominant news company. 

Rocchi then announced that he used to be stepping down with rapid cease.

“Regarding today’s events, in agreement with the AIA (Italian Referees Association) and for the sake of the CAN group, which must be able to operate with maximum serenity, I have decided to self-suspend, effective immediately, from the role of head of the CAN. This choice, painful and difficult, but shared with my family, is intended to allow for the proper course of the judicial proceedings, from which I am certain I will emerge unscathed and stronger than before.”  

In Might 2025 a grievance letter used to be despatched to the Italian Referees Affiliation (AIA) by used referee assistant Domenico Rocca, who underlined one of the foremost points of the Italian referee plot. The investigation led by Milan Prosecutor Maurizio Ascione addresses incidents that took jam essentially all the intention thru the 2024-25 season, when Napoli won the Scudetto on the closing matchday. 

Private eye What’s the accusation about? 

There are mute heaps of foremost aspects to be clarified and made public, however essentially essentially essentially based on experiences, Rocchi over-stepped his authority with VAR officials to point out on-discipline evaluations by banging on the window of the VAR booth within the Lissone VAR heart (as with many sports activities, video review takes jam away from the discipline the build video games are performed, with the decisions being routed to a centralized converse), and of assigning referees who were ‘most common’ by some clubs, equivalent to Inter, as a change of others. None of the clubs or FA hold commented on the subject. The President of the Italian FA Gabriele Gravina stepped down from his feature following the nationwide crew’s elimination at the World Cup playoffs. 

One of many incidents beneath scrutiny took jam all the intention thru the Serie A match between Udinese and Parma on March 1, 2025. At some level of the sport, the three VAR officials in Lissone were reviewing a which which you can perchance imagine handball in Parma’s penalty condominium. Before all the pieces, VAR official Daniele Paterna gave the impression inclined to push apart the enchantment, remarking, “Look at the position of the arm, it seems on the body.” At one level, on the opposite hand, he regarded at the again of him and perceived to contend with somebody off-camera. Investigators suspect that Gianluca Rocchi could perchance impartial hold left his jam and loads of instances knocked on the VAR room’s glass door to draw the officials’ attention, allegedly urging them to point out an on-discipline review. Udinese were within the kill awarded a penalty, which they transformed to stable a 1–0 victory.

The inquiry is also inspecting earlier VAR-linked episodes, at the side of a controversial incident spirited Alessandro Bastoni all the intention thru the 2023–24 season. If so, VAR official Luigi Nasca used to be later demoted after failing to flag a doable unsuitable within the perform-as much as a aim. Though the sporting justice plot had already reviewed and archived the subject, it has now been reopened by the civil courts.

Private eye What did Inter divulge? 

Before the two-2 draw in opposition to Torino on Sunday, Inter president Giuseppe Marotta spoke for the first time on behalf of the club on the investigation and the media experiences.

“We are learning everything from the press, and all of this astonishes us. We do not have ‘preferred’ or ‘unwelcome’ referees; we know we have acted with the utmost integrity, and this should reassure everyone. Last year, we objectively dealt with adverse decisions that were confirmed by the refereeing leadership, such as in Inter-Roma. Today, we are here focusing on this championship,” he mentioned. “I am calm because Inter is uninvolved and will remain uninvolved in the future. The agreement at San Siro, according to the Prosecutor’s Office? I am surprised because I find no basis for this. We learned everything from the press. I want to reassure all the fans: we are here to compete for the Scudetto and we want to bring home this well-deserved title. We have always acted with the utmost integrity.”

Private eye The reaction from the league

The pinnacle of the Italian Serie A Ezio Simonelli wrote a commentary on Sunday, declaring, “Following what has been reported throughout all media outlets, I’d esteem to remind every person that, as in any assorted convey, these are accusations made by investigators, and it is every person’s responsibility to treat them as such inside of a fashioned democratic dialogue. Rapid judgments or conclusions of any kind are out of jam while we dutifully predict the investigations to total their course and save the reality. None of us know the foremost aspects of the case, and being a proponent of due job is our actual responsibility except the final level of judgment.

“Otherwise, there is a risk of enormous reputational damage to the Serie A system and the entire Italian football movement through a distorted narrative and a literal ‘media pillory.’ Furthermore, on the merits of the case, it is well known that both the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the CONI Prosecutor’s Office moved promptly and have already expressed their views on certain points of the investigation. Ordinary justice will take its course, but we cannot ignore the work already carried out at the time by the competent sports bodies, which have, moreover, already taken action in light of new facts of potential disciplinary relevance. We have a duty to ensure that the football system guarantees transparency and equal treatment, calling on everyone to avoid exploitation that only generates misinformation. Trusting in the work of the competent authorities, a notice of investigation cannot be allowed to call into question the intellectual honesty and the work of an entire system. If it should turn out that someone has made a mistake, it will be right for them to pay. But it is never permissible to cast doubt on the credibility of the system and the regularity of the championship.”

Private eye What did the politicians divulge?

The Italian sport minister Andrea Abodi chimed in as nicely, asserting, “Like all of you, I am reading about the developments emerging from the investigation by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office, which began with a complaint from a former member of the Italian Referees Association. While leaving it to the judicial authorities to carry out their work, and without wishing to comment on the actions of the CAN Rocchi referee assignor, the most serious issue that emerges is how this complaint was handled within the football system. So far, there has been no public response, nor do we know who received the complaint or which body was tasked with verifying its validity. I therefore expect to formally receive, as soon as possible, information from CONI regarding the matter. Should responsibilities be established, there will inevitably have to be consequences.”  

Private eye Some other Calciopoli? 

Italy is now not new to scandals that hold referees. The most considerable is the one who took jam sooner than the 2006 World Cup, fundamentally identified as Calciopoli. It used to be a huge thunderstorm that affected Italian soccer and one of the foremost largest clubs within the summer season of 2006, a pair of weeks sooner than Italy won the 2006 World Cup in opposition to France within the Berlin final. Juventus used to be the largest club enthusiastic as the Bianconeri were later relegated to the Italian 2d division after proof emerged of clubs who were selecting favorable referees for his or her hold matches. Juventus noticed their 2004-05 and 2005-06 titles stripped in consequence.