As has become customary in Italy as the last few years have gone by, the day or two after the completion of the most recent matchday involves the general evaluation of how the referees have performed. And, considering the current state of refereeing in Italy (and across Europe as a whole), it’s not like we go a weekend or two without Serie A coming out and basically saying “OOPS! Got a few things wrong!”
That was certainly the case once again as the hours went by following Juventus’ disappointing
1-1 draw with Hellas Verona over the weekend. As much as the performance from Juve was one that was not impressive by any means, that feels like even more the case when it comes to referee Antonio Rapuano, who has since been told he will be spending a little time in Serie B because of his less-than-stellar showing on Saturday evening.
Three days later, we’ve gotten the final verdict from referee designator Gianluca Rocchi regarding two of the biggest calls — or, in one case, a relative non-call — that went against Juventus during the 90-plus minutes against Hellas Verona. And you’ll never guess what Rocchi had to say about the handball against Joao Mario that gave Hellas a penalty and the yellow card that looked like much more than that when Gift Orban — the scorer of said penalty — put an elbow into the side of Federico Gatti’s skull.
“The [penalty] decision is not correct; it is not a penalty. The dynamic does not make Joao Mario’s handball punishable. The player goes to head the ball, and the dropping ball hits his arm.”
(Quotes via Football Italia)
And what about the yellow card against Orban that should have been a red, Mr. Rocchi?
“In this case, it was correct to give a red card. The player looks at his opponent. It’s a red card to be given on the field. VAR and AVAR handled the situation too hastily.”
Well, well, well … lookie there!
Three days after the fact, we can all say that we were correct with our assessment of the two calls in the moment — and it’s not like it took too much difficulty to figure out Orban should have gotten a red card for what he did to Gatti. (And, you know, the simple fact that Juventus players have been sent off on three separate occasions within the last five months for these types of violent conduct kind of calls and VAR reviews.)
However, there is a catch with Rocchi’s comments — and that is how he essentially critiques how Juventus manager Igor Tudor handled things after the final whistle. Tudor was quite vocal during his post-game media responsibilities about what he thought about the handball against Joao Mario and the Orban yellow card.
Rocchi said that Tudor was correct in his views … but could have — and should have? — handled it better.
“He is right in Orban’s case, but I’d like the correct terms to be used. Excessive tones are not appropriate. I ask for cooperation; otherwise, it becomes a brawl. We are always very strict. It was one of the best VAR officials to make a mistake. These things happen, but we suspend them for disciplinary reasons, not technical ones. In any case, meritocracy counts.”
So, now that Rocchi said that the penalty shouldn’t have been a penalty and that Orban should have gotten a red card, what’s going to happen? Probably nothing other than Rapuano going to Serie B for a few weeks (or longer) and that will be that. Juventus aren’t going to get any sort of points as a result. If anything, the anger that Tudor showed toward the refereeing decisions feel even more valid because, as it turns out, he was completely justified to say what he said.
