The head of Italy’s referees, Gianluca Rocchi, has once again stirred controversy with his review of the officiating in Fiorentina–Juventus, where a penalty for Dusan Vlahovic was controversially overturned by VAR. Tuttosport report that unfolded on air during Open Var was a narrative far removed from the match’s actual events — a defence of an indefensible decision that continues to stretch the limits of credibility.
Fans and pundits alike had awaited Rocchi’s appearance with anticipation, hoping for an explanation or at least some acknowledgement that errors had been made. Instead, what emerged was a confident reaffirmation of a flawed call. There was no mention of the fact that the incident was not a VAR case, nor any criticism of referee Marco Guida’s decision to effectively replay the episode “on the field”. Even more striking was the absence of any accountability — no recognition that the footage had been misread, just a complete defence of a mistaken judgment that further fuels the uneasy debate between incompetence and bias.
Rocchi praised Guida and Fabio Maresca for their handling of the VAR review, despite the clear images showing that Pablo Marí was the first to make contact, tugging Vlahovic’s shirt before the Serbian forward went down. The lack of any comment on the racist chants aimed at Vlahovic during the match was another glaring omission. Instead, Rocchi shifted the focus to Juventus’ sportsmanlike behaviour, which he applauded.
The refereeing chief went on to justify another contentious decision, pointing to the penalty awarded to Marcus Thuram during the Inter–Milan derby. Ironically, to reinforce that call, he cited a previous example of a decision that went against Juventus.
The Defence of the Indefensible
From the VAR room came the initial judgment: “For me, it’s to be cancelled,” followed by “Vlahovic drags him down.” The dialogue continued: “I’d make you look at it again — Vlahovic takes him to the ground.”
Rocchi elaborated: “This is a complex case. Watching live, I’d have given a penalty too. But after the full review, which was correctly conducted by the VAR, it’s clear Vlahovic held the Fiorentina defender first and brought him down. The decision was correct, the VAR worked well and provided the right camera angle. I also want to highlight how well the on-field review was managed — the referee kept control and made a calm decision.”
He added: “What Pablo Marí does wrong comes later, chronologically after Vlahovic’s hold. Can VAR intervene here? VAR can intervene in everything. We’ve adapted the protocol — at first, it was used only for clear mistakes, now the goal is to reach the right outcome. One more on-field review is better than one less. Every penalty must be 100% right. What worries me is when I hear people say ‘better not to whistle at all’. Our role is to decide.”
Yet the footage tells a very different story — Marí clearly grabs Vlahovic first, pulling him back by the shirt. The images contradict Rocchi’s version of events and confirm that referee Daniele Doveri’s initial decision to award the penalty was, in fact, correct. Doveri himself could be heard saying, “Pablo Marí never goes for the ball, he only looks at the man after being beaten.”
The “Lost” Penalty for Conceição
Rocchi also revisited another debated episode, during Inter–Milan, when the VAR team quickly ruled in favour of a penalty for a reckless challenge by Pavlovic on Thuram. “For me, it’s a penalty,” the VAR operators said, before calling the referee Sozza to review the incident. After watching the replay, Sozza awarded the spot kick — which Hakan Calhanoglu failed to convert thanks to an excellent save from Mike Maignan.
Explaining the protocol, Rocchi commented: “We intervene when a challenge is reckless. Sozza reviewed the incident calmly and gave the right decision. The yellow card was correct, regardless of the ball’s position.” He then referenced previous cases: “A similar thing happened in Fiorentina–Lazio. Then we missed one in Lazio–Juventus — the foul by Gila on Conceição — and we admitted it was a penalty.”
