Former Serie A star hits out at VAR and referees: ‘It’s a mess’

Ex-Fiorentina and Milan star Riccardo Montolivo complains that VAR has ‘more power’ than on-the-field referees: ‘It should be the other way around, like this, it’s a mess.’

Italian referees are under increasing pressure as protests from teams and coaches have been mounting in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, Napoli complained about a disallowed Rasmus Hojlund goal and a penalty kick given to Verona, but controversy continued in the evening with more controversial VAR’s penalty kicks decisions in Lazio-Fiorentina.

“They are not improving in using VAR. The referee on the pitch has less and less power, and the VAR referee is having more. To me, it should be the other way around,” former Serie A midfielder Montolivo told Sky Sport Italia.

“VAR should save the referee when he makes a big mistake. That’s it. Does he think it’s a penalty? It can be or not, the referee evaluates it. Like this, it’s a mess.”

Inter legend Beppe Bergomi added: “We are Italians. We’d like to see VAR being used also for corner kicks, so it’s hard to go backwards. It’s a mistake after another. When they try to fix an error, they upset those who suffered the same error the previous Sunday.”

Lazio already complained about the referee after a 1-1 draw against Udinese last week, when the Bianconeri striker Keinan Davis charged down a shot with his arm and then scored a late equaliser.

Tensions have escalated to the point that refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi even threatened to resign last week if the referees’ integrity was called into question.