Orsato Admits Five Refereeing & VAR Mistakes This Season

Daniele Orsato, the refereeing designator, confirmed five major refereeing and VAR errors have occurred this season. These incidents impacted matches including Juventus-Atalanta, Torino-Milan, Como-Parma, and Fiorentina-Frosinone.

Lega Serie A and representatives from all 20 clubs convened at the VAR officials' hub near Milan. The meeting reviewed the season's altered approach, using video clips to clarify decision-making. This included acknowledging four errors in Serie A and one in the Coppa Italia.

Specific Incidents Under Scrutiny

The most recent acknowledged error happened this past weekend during Juventus' 2-0 victory over Atalanta. Orsato stated that VAR should have reviewed Pierre Kalulu's shirt pull on Jonathan Rowe, which should have resulted in a penalty for Atalanta when the score was 1-0.

A similar situation occurred in the Coppa Italia midweek. Mateo Pellegrino was pulled back by Antonio Caracciolo in Fiorentina's match against Pisa, an incident where VAR also failed to alert the referee.

Fiorentina was involved in two more errors in their Serie A match against Frosinone. These concerned a penalty decision regarding Ilario Monterisi and a red card issued to Alex Jimenez.

In Torino, Milan should have been awarded a penalty. Nikola Vlasic's handball offense warranted a VAR On-Field Review during Milan's away win.

Despite protests from Cesc Fabregas, Orsato upheld the decision that Como's Maxence Caqueret merited a red card for his challenge on Parma's Sascha Britschgi.

However, Orsato defended the decisions not to disallow Milan's goal against Juventus, citing a Koni De Winter challenge on Randal Kolo Muani during the build-up. He also confirmed that Roberto Gagliardini's challenge on Konan N'Dri in Cagliari-Lecce was not a penalty.

Regarding other controversial moments, such as Kevin De Bruyne's push on Johan Vasquez before a Napoli goal against Genoa, or Torbjorn Heggem's challenge on Gaetano Oristanio in Bologna-Torino, Orsato emphasized that the on-field referee had a clear view and made their judgment. VAR's role is limited to correcting clear and obvious errors or situations where the referee lacked a clear view.