Source:REUTERS/ Daniele Mascolo
[Saba Sports News] In a recent media interview, Ezio Simonelli, president of Serie A, spoke out about the current VAR rules, expressing strong dissatisfaction and bluntly describing the system as “absurd”. The main reason is that VAR cannot intervene in yellow card decisions or second-yellow red card incidents, leaving crucial errors uncorrected. Compared with other leagues, Serie A’s VAR is indeed far less flexible. Some leagues give VAR more leeway to review key decisions that could change the outcome of a match, in an effort to ensure fairness. In Serie A, however, the rules are overly rigid. VAR acts more like a tool usable only under specific conditions, often little more than a formality rather than a reliable assistant to referees.
In our view, this reflects the urgent need for Serie A to reform its VAR system. If outdated rules remain unchanged, controversies will only multiply. Fans will grow frustrated, players will feel hard done by, and the league’s overall image will suffer. What everyone wants is not perfect refereeing, but as fair an environment as possible, so that football can return to what it should be. Only when rules keep up with technology, and technology serves fairness, can VAR truly fulfill its purpose.