Family Meeting Gather ‘Round: The State Of Italian Refereeing

By: roberto | February 28th, 2008

As most of you here at the Offside know, I’m sure, things haven’t been going too well for Italian football over the past couple years. Apart from our World Cup Championship, our domestic league has endured far too many scandalous accusations and dramatic charges that have now convinced me, as well as many others, that our country’s favorite pastime has become too synonymous with negative and misleading connotations. Therefore, things must be done to steady the ship and mark a new course in order to redirect our beloved game’s attention back towards our very competitive and high quality style of play. So my question to you the reader is: What can we do?

First, let me say that this piece is by no means intended to be biased towards Juventus, its supporters, or any other team in Serie A. This effort was put forth in good faith towards the renewal of strength in Italian football, and in so, acknowledges and maintains that positive change can only be made through the willingness to accept every team and organization equally, and above all respectfully. Moreover, as this article was inspired by the recent events surrounding the troubling state of Italian refereeing, we will look at the proposed option of foreign refs in Italy and the appeal of video replay. So with that said, I hereby formally begin this discussion.

Foreign Refs or Video Replay?

Foreign refs might just be the solution. I mean, if we can’t teach our boys how to properly handle a game, then there’s no reason why we should be all nationalistic and refute the admission of foreign refs into our league. After all, we have foreign players. Why not foreign refs? If we are all in agreement that Italian football (or any other nation for that matter) is and should continue to pursue the highest level of professional competition, then by no means can the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) or the Associazione Italiana Arbitri (AIA) assume good refs can only be found in Italy exclusively.

Some of the arguments against the probable success of the foreign ref solution lend themselves towards the unfortunately popular conspiracy-esc theories. Simply put, the reason things are the way they are, are because of the outside forces manipulating refs to manipulate results. Cultural propaganda such as: ‘Everybody has their price’ or ‘How deep does the rabbit hole go?’, suggest darker secrets exist in the world of Italian football. These sentiments are shared by many in Italy and present a unique and terribly burdensome sociological challenge to overcome. Moreover, in this view, foreign refs couldn’t be a solution to our problem as they’d suffer from the same apparent weakness inherent in the human condition that are obviously not exclusively Italian.

The other less talked about solution at the moment within Italy is the introduction of video replay. Proponents of this method have long relished the fact that this allows for the highest level of accuracy possible with regards to fairness and equality. Many believe that a video replay system, if implimented correctly in the game of football, would allow for the most realistic approach to returning towards a focus on playing the game as it was meant to be played- competitive and fair. Supporters maintain that the stoppage of play for video reviews won’t take any more time out of the game than the already alarming number of dives or faked injuries, that already cripple the flow of play today in Italy. Some would argue that these situations could eventually be reduced as a result of the player’s realisation that his or her theatrical performance (no matter how good) would not convince, or be able to hide from, a camera.

Of course those who feel strongly against the implementation of video replays feel as though it does not belong in the game of soccer. Currently the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), who oversees the international affairs of the sport, wholeheartedly opposes it. They maintain that the essence of the ‘beautiful’ game does not require such assistance, and that an overhaul in fundamental time structure as well as rules and regulations are unacceptable, given the already rich and illustrious history of the game. Michel Platini, one of the proponents of this belief, feels as though the game should “remain human” and only suggests the use of technology to aid in goal-line situations.

So some may say that we find ourselves at a crossroads in Italian football. Do we? Don’t we? Can we? What is wrong with the game? How can we fix it? Do we take the lead? Do we stay the course? Is there need for any change at all? These questions, and many alike, represent the first step towards eventually cleaning up the reputation of the beautiful game so many Italians, like myself, worship. Forza Italia!

Some Related Juventus Posts:

Category: Team News

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jana

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Bashar

R.J. - I actually haven't played more than 5 minutes of American football.. I know runners aren't a position and since I don't know the position name I called them runners.. cuz well.. that's what they do.. I think it's receivers or something. And I'm not criticizing the sport (by all means you enjoy it all you want), I'm just giving my opinion about it. From a health point of view I'm surprised that some of those defensive line players haven't gotten strokes yet.

Besides why is American football even coming up in this conversation? It's about Italian referees.
Gabriella (ASR)

from the RA board, credit to Lupa
========================
Arbitri pronti a una clamorosa serrata
In risposta alle polemiche: la decisione sarà presa il 13 marzo
Dura presa di posizione degli arbitri che, accusati da media e giocatori, sono ora pronti a incrociare le braccia e a dar vita a un clamoroso sciopero. Stando infatti a quanto rivelato da persone vicine all'ambiente, nel corso dell'ultima riunione a Coverciano, le giacchette nere, capeggiate da Farina e Rosetti, i colleghi più rappresentativi, avrebbero sottoposto al designatore Collina e al presidente dell'Aia Gussoni un'ipotesi di agitazione, da attuarsi nel caso di ulteriori attacchi mediatici.

In particolare gli arbitri avrebbero ipotizzato due forme di protesta: fermarsi e non scendere in campo o cominciare tutte le gare di campionato con 15' di ritardo. La decisione definitiva verrà comunque presa nella riunione del prossimo 13 marzo. Se la linea dello sciopero dovesse effettivamente passare, la nona giornata di ritorno sarebbe dunque a rischio.

Because of all the attention to the referee calls recently, the refs are considering a strike. They will make a decision March 13. It may simply be that games will start 15 minutes late in one game, or they may not work on the ninth day of the return part of the season. (I guess that would be week 28, March 16)

http://controcampo.mediaset.it...
brad

the answer is get ex-players to referee the game, people who know the game inside out and know when to let the game move on and when things need to be calmed, and maybe use a bit of discretion when dealing with players, unlike the mexes sending off last week (ok, i'm biased!)
adam

great post roberto, i like the idea of video replay but only if it doesnt take too much time off of the game. I think that they should have one or two neutral men upstairs in a booth that watch the game on a screen. but immediatly after any game affecting descision (red/yellow card, penalty, dive, allowed/disallowed goal) they get a replay of the incident and decide whether the decision was correct or not. this wouldnt slow down the game because the play would only stop if there was an incorrect decision. they could also add more cameras to get more angles if the view is blocked by other players. what do u guys think yes, no, mabey?
Alessio

ugh when the saints (my team, i live in new orleans) punted to hester, he returned for a TD. TWO weeks earlier he returned 3 for tds...by then you would have thought DO NOT PUNT TO DEVIN HESTER.
R.J.

here's your visual aide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
R.J.

Marco, two words...Devin Hester. if you dont think he is one of the most explosive and exciting athletes out there you are just kidding yourself. i understand it's not exciting to you personally, but give the athletes the credit they deserve. how many pro soccer players can run sub 4.4 40's...not many. at the NFL combine last week 20 players ran under 4.4 now tell me that's not explosive speed. they may not have the wind that soccer players have, but the speed is explosive as fuck.
Deb

I think Daniele is right: neither the fans nor the players should have to put up with shitty refereeing. Ever. And IMO, this campionato has turned into something between a farce and a soap opera. I don’t know that foreign refs would really make that much of a difference though because they’d still be paid from the same pot of cash as the Italian refs. Regardless of whether or not anything dodgy is actually going on behind the scenes, when a football federation’s biggest sponsor is also the primary source of cash and a major shareholder in one of the teams fighting to win that championship, it is an incredible conflict of interest that needs to be axed ASAP.

The FIGC and the AIA need to be independent bodies, and ideally, impartial ones. I think that if the FIGC really wants to clean up their shop, they should start with the accounting department and completely revamp how and from whom they receive sponsorship dollars. Perhaps putting a cap on the amount of money any one particular group is allowed to plug into their system?? It’s like a politician taking money from a lobby group. Even the superficial appearance of being in someone’s back pocket can be incredibly damaging to public perception. And when you combine this with the Italian culture of rampant conspiracy theories it’s a recipe for chaos – as this season bears witness.

Certainly more referee training is required and since human error is always going to happen, I like the idea of another official in the box and quite like the idea of video replay as well. It works in the NHL because they don’t stop to dissect every single play and so the flow of the game isn’t damaged. In fact, in most hockey games I’ve watched they rarely bother going upstairs for the second opinion – it’s just available if and when needed. But I still think these measures really only scratch at the surface of a problem that goes way beyond calico in Italian society. I think any truly meaningful solution has to involve breaking up the tangled web of monopolies, power, conflicts of interest, money and shady allegiances hiding behind the game and making the whole thing a lot more transparent.
Avia

Hey there folks! Im actually from the Milan pages, i heard u guys were having a mighty discussion so i thought i would throw my hat in the ring. (Be warned, its a large hat!)

The idea of having foreign refs misses a major fact, and that happens to be that across the world, the style of football differs ever so slightly from country to country.

Im in Scotland and grew up watching Scottish teams such as Rangers and Celtic, and also followed the EPL. These guys play a slightly more physical game than some of their European counterparts (Gattuso aside!) and as a result the refs tolerate a harsher level of physical contact. These refs may not be tolerated by calcio tifosi should they be flown over there to officate.

Im not sure that a ref from one country would be able to fully appreciate the nuances in the style of play in another league.

If any of u guys (or gals) watched the recent African Cup of Nations then you may have noticed that of all the matches played, there was possibly only one or two matches played that resulted in a nil-nil result. The teams were very good to watch as they all wanted to attack but some lacked the tactical need to defend (hence the very high goal count) and some of the tackles made ME wince.

It is generally agreed that the leagues in Spain & Italy are considered to be alot more technically proficient (you just have to look at the list of winners of CL and UEFA comps) than alot of other nations espec. in europe and the refs should be home grown regardless of country.

I do however agree with using video replays in football, especially for divers and even more, where a player fakes an injury (that REALLY pisses me off) when a guy hits the deck clutching his face etc, imagine being the player who gets red carded when you've not even touched the guy and he's now on the ground screaming!! I think that the replays should be used for dubious goal clearances as well as shady offsides! (Even though this might make life harder for Super Pippo!)

As for wether or not the replays would kill the flow of the game, again, i cast doubt, as i have watched many a match where players are falling down faking or the ref breaks up the flow. But this is always usually made up for with added on time, the technology is at such a level now where the distruption could be minimised.

How many times have you seen a ref play advantage and then later go back and pick up a player for an incident? The same could be done with video replays no?

I done think we as tifosi should turn in on ourselves either, yes we've had a blow, but winning a world cup and the high number of italain teams in CL finals still says alot to the world, even though im not italian, i was sooooo proud to see the Azzuri lift that trophy, it was the perfect middle finger to the doubters imo.

Someone will have to correct me but im sure, that when Jaap Stam was sold to Lazio he was instantly caught out by a drugs test having literatly stepped off the plane from Manchester but i dont remember any of the press making anything out of it.

Anyone remember?
Marco

R.J. i'm not canadian, and i live in Québec.

The Super Bowl is exiting ? It's 7 hour long commercial with a little football sprinkled here and there.

Only an American would say that the NFL is explosive and exciting...
R.J.

dave, i wouldn't worry about what i'm doing. i would worry about you being gay.

Roberto, i couldnt agree more with what you just said. Educating the refs as much as possible is the most realistic approach. Tennis had a similar epidemic back in John McEnroe's hayday, they were part-time officials who didn't really know what they were doing. An officials "boot camp" would help tremendously. Also, they need to start showing accountability as well...if a ref has a bad game and costs a team some points, he should be fired immediately. That would show the other officials that they can't get away with fucking teams around anymore.
roberto

I think the idea of video replay in the game of Futbol generally scares (for lack of a better word) many enthusiasts of the sport right off the bat. I at first hated the idea outright. But with technology being what it is today, we have no reason to assume that the flow of the game will be affected significantly- if at all. As long as refs (foreign or not) decide the game as they see it, mistakes will be inevitable and thats a given no one can deny. Which blows.

Seeing as Fifa, or any other governing body of Futbol, isn't going to entertain the use of video replay in some uniquely fabolous way on a trial basis at least, the most realistic approach to solving this refereeing epidemic RIGHT NOW seems to be educating & paying our refs properly.

Pay the refs a higher salary so it can be their full-time job instead of this part-time crap. Meanwhile, teach these fucking guys the game meticulously inside a boot camp-esc environment. Set up a more rigorous system of advancement within the AIA. Fewer products (refs) will be turned out but they'll be more qualified, confident, attentive, knowledgeable, whatever. That will statisfy the higher wages.

I'm still very pro video replay though dammit.
Dave

You'll go real far with that kind of ignorance.
R.J.

Dave, the good thing about free speech is that i can talk about whatever i want, and call bullshit whenever and wherever i see it. with that being said, you sir, are gay.

The whole officiating debate is pointless, because as long as humans are involved in making decisions, mistakes will be made. The only thing that will help is an independent 3rd party governing body that oversees the officials. Consistency should be the primary objective.

I like to blame the players as well as the officials. The diving that goes on is just ridiculous, and makes it that much harder for refs to get it right. The reason why most Americans think soccer sucks is because guys drop in agonizing pain for no reason. then we turn the channel and watch brandon stokley go over the middle and get his fucking head knocked off by ray lewis, and pop up like nothing happened. i like soccer, but the pussy factor is higher than most sports.
Alessio

Anthony, we're also linked with Senna. Someone shoot Secco already.

Priorities for this summer- fullback, midfielder. Grosso/Dossena/ZAMBROTTA (god imagine how good we'd be with him) and Van der Vaart. VdV is a good Nedved replacement, he would fit into our 4-4-2 very well, Diego wouldn't.
KJ Ventimiglia

Eliminate Juve and Inter and that might solve the ref question. J/K guys! Anyway, NFL is fucking great. Its the toughest sport on the planet aside from maybe rugby or hockey. I dont care what anybody says.
Anthony

More reports on gila joining juve! worst possible move ever i hope donadoni excludeds him from euro 2008 del piero or cassano deserve it more why isint secco pushing hard for amauri and evev enclude barzagli
Dave

I like the idea of video replay, controlled by an off-field official, like in the NHL. I also like the idea of coaches having only so many chances to request a review like in the NFL. It shouldn't be used for every single offsides call, but for circumstances which could change a game, like a takedown in the penalty area, which may or may not warrant a penalty.

At the top flight, champions league, and national team levels, games shouldn't be decided by calls/non-calls.

And let's not forget, this is a forum to discuss ideas about soccer or futbol or football or whatever you call it. Let's keep it on topic and refrain from attacking other posters.
Fetyani

and they already implemented the chip in the ball, so when it crosses the goal line the ref will be notified. they started it in the world club cup, ironically a ball did cross the line once and the ref didnt make the call.
Fetyani

Yah adding more sideline referee isnt a bad idea, but not on the pitch. but again they need to have like a course to teach referees how to act and react. because its all about the lack of experience mistakes thats killing the game. for instance in the Catania-Milan game, almost every time a player fell down the ref blew the whistle, the match ended with 48 fouls!!!
R.J.

Bashar, it's clear you've never played a down of Football in your life. You said yourself the sport isn't for you, which is fine, but you look like an idiot criticizing a sport you admittedly know nothing about. "Runner" is not a position, and everyone in the sport runs, so by your logic they are all athletic.
Bashar

I'm all for video replays. I'm a technology guy myself and I think there are so many cool things they can do with it. Sensors on the posts, in the ball, etc... I don't think it takes the humanity out of it. If you had a feed that was delayed by 20 seconds, the 5th official could watch the video after an incident and within 20-30 seconds have an answer to the referee. If it's not obvious in that time let the ref decide. Nothing will be affected but accuracy.

It's definitely a lot better than costing teams important objectives and thus a ton of money. Imagine a team was relegated because of a horrible decision. All their players will leave, they won't have money to replace them, and they'll stay in Serie B for a while.

I don't think American football players are that athletic actually. Aside from the runners and possibly the quarter back. That's like 4 players per team. The rest you might as well replace with a big slab of stone. Then again I don't care much for the sport to really look into the positives of it.
R.J.

masoneria, dog fighting is an ugly aspect of southern african american culture which has nothing to do with football whatsoever, you probably shouldnt talk out your ass on shit you know nothing about. you are in the philippines by the way, where people from around the globe go to rape and molest little boys and girls.

i love football and soccer, and if you dont like football that's cool, just give the athletes the respect they deserve. just listen to Katt Williams, haters are the lowest form of existence.

they need to keep italian refs in Serie A, but they need a completely different governing body to take over and audit performances accordindly. video replay would take away from the continuity of the game, which is something very unique to soccer.
masoneria

imho american football is really boring. even american football players get bored with their own game so they try to kill dogs and go to prison to make life a little meaningful.
Alessio

Yeah, I never realized why FIGC referees weren't professionalized...
Johonna

I think a dedicated ref for each goal is a fine idea. Still, people will scream conspiracy and corruption when they make a mistake - and they WILL make mistakes. I think the only way to make people trust that referees do not have an ulterior motive is to professionalize the whole lot. That way there could be more extensive training and probably a bigger pool of officials to draw from.
Alessio

Fetyani what do you think of the 4/5th ref situations. I think it's the best situation...and bonus it came from a Juventino legend.
Fetyani

First the FIGC needs to invest in extensive programs to help, aid, teach and guide the referees. Because usually most of the mistakes are due to inexperience.

As for video replay, im on the fence on this one. If it will stop/delay the game in any way then im completely against it. But if it will be only used to decide goals and penalties in less than 30 seconds or so by a panel of judges in the game and will give the decision straight to the referee, then i dont know, thats a maybe. Other changes will have to be done as well, like for instance the player will have to continue to try to score whether the flag is up or not, because they will wait for a decision. It's way too complicated and i doubt it will be implemented.
Marco

Concerning video replay, I think MIkeDG put it best in his comment: "too big of a change to the inherent spirit of the sport and natural flow of the game". I find however Roberto's suggestion of allowing each coach one reviewable play rather intriguing. The problem I foresee though, is that coaches would use it up rather quickly. I think the solution of having an additional two referees, dedicated exclusively to monitor what happens inside the penalty box, is a better one.

As for the foreign refs idea, despite the horrors we have seen this season I think Italy still has the best referees in Europe. Certainly not this year, but over the past decade. Besides, who would we pick to officiate the Serie A? Aside from Markus Merk, there isn't anyone I find particularly excellent in Europe, but that's just me.

For kicks, have a look at IFFHS's 2007 World's best Referee ranking. Rosetti's nº5.
roberto

Sterling, you simply hold the coach responsible. He knows the score- so to speak.
Alessio

I just really don't like the idea of video replay, it'd slow the game a significant amount.
Sterling

Fighting about the NFL vs. Serie A aside, I really like Roberto's idea.

I have one concern, though: what do you do if a coach has used up all his subs, and the shit hits the fan in minute 89?
R.J.

marco, all im saying is that you must be insane to think that Football is boring. johonna is just ignorant to other sports. when compared to every other sport, soccer has the least amount of scoring, so to call a sport such as footbal, with the most athletic and explosive human beings on the planet, boring is asinine at best.

i do find it funny that within the same sequence of analogies you mention Jesus and Celine Dion. Of course a Canadian brings up Celine Dion...haha
Marco420

R.J. there are more than 1.1 billion Catholics in the world. That don't mean Jesus exists.

You know how many fans Celine Dion has ? That don't make her music good.
Johonna

And I dont like baseball either.
R.J.

johonna is a disgrace to america
R.J.

Johonna, you think Football(in north america Futbol is soccer, if you dont like it you get get the fuck out) is boring? 300 Million people must be wrong and you are right i guess.
Johonna

Oh, and refereeing should be professional. No more day jobs. They should have schools and their own federation (like FIFA) that polices them.
Johonna

I just think video replay is a slippery slope. R.J., I dont care how athletic NFL players are, American football is boring. I dont want football (soccer) to end up that way.

I watch some English football (my boyfriend likes Man U - dont ask me why) and I dont see that the refereeing is substantially different from what I see in Serie A. Really, it is only the reaction to the referees and the attitude toward them that is different between the leagues. How much of this "referee crisis" is born of the Italian love of conspiracies and mistrust of authority? That is, how much of this is cultural and how much is factual?

I am not saying there are no mistaken calls in England. I remember one instance where a referee made a public apology the day after a disputed red card was given. It happens. For those that want foreign refs, my question is: What do they do that Italian refs dont do? Is it just the corruption issue? Or are others really more accurate (are there statistics)?