Orsato admission of five referee and VAR errors so far in 2026/27 season
GENOA, ITALY - AUGUST 22: Referee Marco Di Bello (left) reacts during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on August 22, 2026 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
There were five major refereeing and VAR errors made this season, confirmed designator Daniele Orsato, including during Juventus-Atalanta, Torino-Milan, Como-Parma and Fiorentina-Frosinone.
The Lega Serie A and representatives of 20 clubs all met today at the Lissone centre near Milan, the hub where all the VAR officials work on footage from the various matches.
They discussed the change in approach this season, showing clips of various controversial incidents to explain the decision-making process.
That also involved confessing to some errors, four in Serie A and one in the Coppa Italia.
Where VAR and referees got it wrong
The most recent mistake was this weekend, when Juventus beat Atalanta 2-0 in Serie A.
Orsato admitted that VAR should’ve intervened for the Pierre Kalulu shirt tug on Jonathan Rowe, awarding Atalanta a penalty when it was still only 1-0.
It was considered similar to the midweek Coppa Italia situation where Mateo Pellegrino was pulled back by Antonio Caracciolo during Fiorentina’s victory over Pisa, and again VAR had not alerted the referee.
There were two errors in another Fiorentina game against Frosinone in Serie A, specifically a penalty on Ilario Monterisi and red card for Alex Jimenez.
Milan should’ve had a penalty in their victory away to Torino, as Nikola Vlasic’s handling offence was worthy of a VAR On-Field Review.
Despite the Cesc Fabregas protestations in the hall, Orsato reiterated that Como midfielder Maxence Caqueret deserved a red card for the challenge on Sascha Britschgi of Parma.
However, the refereeing designator stood by the decisions to not disallow Milan’s goal against Juventus over a Koni De Winter challenge on Randal Kolo Muani in the build-up.
He also confirmed it was not a penalty for Roberto Gagliardini’s challenge on Konan N’Dri in Cagliari-Lecce.
When it came to other incidents that caused controversy, such as Kevin De Bruyne’s push on Johan Vasquez in the build-up to the Napoli goal against Genoa, or Torbjorn Heggem’s challenge on Gaetano Oristanio in this weekend’s Bologna-Torino, Orsato insisted the referee had a clear view of the situation and had made his judgment.
VAR should only intervene to correct a clear and obvious error, or a situation where the referee did not have a clear view of the situation.
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