LIVE TMW – Referees-captains-technicians meeting concluded. Rizzoli's analysis

14.53: Nicchi also speaks at the end of the meeting – These are the words of the number one Italian referee, Marcello Nicchi, on the sidelines of the meeting with managers, captains and coaches in Rome. "In the VAR room in Coverciano we can explain what happens on the weekend. We can use sites to communicate critical cases that have happened. The regulation is clear, it must be known, it must be relied on. Let the referees speak? If the climate becomes calm and peaceful, why not "When we have the technology available in an environment like the VAR Room, we can even think about talking."

14.51: Saverio Sticchi Damiani does not give up – The president of Lecce, speaks on the sidelines of today's meeting in Rome between referees, captains and players that took place today for a confrontation on VAR and beyond: "I was pleased that the civil and serene protest we have done is was appreciated in tone, he said so expressly. I believe that the regulatory problem is there, there is a contrast that needs to be solved, we will try in writing ".

14.41: Montella comments: "Trust in Rizzoli" – "They explained things quite clearly, the situation is a bit clearer for us now. Did Rizzoli demand respect for the referees? It is right, sometimes it exaggerates a little, maybe we see things in a different perspective. Count more the arbiter or the VAR? The error is easily accepted if it comes from the field, from the VAR a little less ".

2.25pm: the meeting in Rome ended – Meeting concluded, now space for the comments of the protagonists.

14.22: Rizzoli does self-criticism – Nicola Rizzoli makes self-criticism about the errors that would have arrived without the VAR. A percentage of about 6%: "The statistic is high, it means that we are not arbitrating well. But there can be, the regulation has changed so much. There were ten net errors, one in Genoa because the camera didn't work. But never errors on the offside ".

14.17: the proposal of Pierpaolo Marino – The general manager of Udinese Pierpaolo Marino intervened to make a request to Rizzoli: "There is a need for you to come to our offices early to explain to the players, I had solicited this summer and I think it is appropriate. Come to these Meetings are needed, but we cannot convey to the players all that needs to be transmitted. It is a requirement that I feel as a manager, also due to the experience I had as an arbiter. "

14.02: Rizzoli talks about Fiorentina-Napoli – "The referee had not realized and for this there was the intervention of the VAR, otherwise he should not have intervened. Very difficult episode. The arm is very wide and invades the space of the opponent. Even if there is no intention to increase body volume, borderline and controversial episode, the decision that takes the referee in the field must remain, "he said of the penalty booed on Castrovilli's shot.

13:55: The debate continues – “It is true that I have talents, who must arbitrate the most important competitions. I can't think of having 21 identical referees. If Rocchi is less influenced, it is a question of personality and experience. But this does not mean that the younger ones are influenced more, "says Rizzoli.

Ancelotti: "I want to accept the error of Giacomelli, like Rocchi, but I do not accept the error of the VAR. The referee must make the mistake ".

13:54: Ancelotti intervenes – The Napoli coach Ancelotti intervenes and asks Rizzoli: "Did you make a mistake in Napoli-Atalanta?"

Rizzoli
"The game was interrupted"

Ancelotti:
"Ok after this I can even leave. I just need to know that you were wrong. The main problem is who referees the games. Sometimes the impression is that the matches are decided by the VAR, but in my opinion it is the referee who has to decide. In the designations I know that Rocchi and Orsato arbitrate the competitions, the others are more conditioned. It may be that an experienced VAR assistant commands. I want to make sure the referee judges. On the objective situation ok, but on the non-objective ones the VAR cannot be the one to decide ”.

1.15pm: Rizzoli again on Milan-Genoa – "Penalty of punishable hand, because in marking with the arm in an unnatural position, it lifts the ball to the attacker. Even if he does not intentionally want to increase the volume of the body ", this is the designator's explanation on the contrast Leao-Biraschi.

Still Rizzoli: "If the first is rigor (Lecce-Spal, ed), let's compare it to this (De Ligt in Turin-Juve, ed). I am convinced that the buzz that came out is because De Ligt did it, author of 3 consecutive interventions. Do we agree that it is not punishable? Ok. The goal is to clarify, also saying where we are wrong ”.

13.28: Rizzoli cites three other cases – Rizzoli on Mancini's hand ball in Roma-Cagliari: "The referee does not know if it is a hand or shoulder fault, because he is turned away. They also verify the beginning of the action because there is a doubt about the hand touch of Joao Pedro at the beginning of the action, which however does not exist. Does anyone have any doubts? Ok we can go on ".

On De Ligt's hand ball in Juve-Inter: "To be clear, if the attacker (Lautaro Martinez, ed) had touched the ball before the defender's elbow would have been punished. It doesn't matter if it is first diverted by an opponent. De Ligt's attitude is always punishable ”.

On De Ligt in Juve-Bologna: "They showed you the wrong image. Depending on the photo you see, you give a different interpretation. Two perspectives change the judgment. However, De Ligt touches the ball with his foot and then with his arm: if he had not touched it on the slip, it would have been a penalty. The referee lost a little more time to see better. We asked the directors to eventually send the images we chose to judge. This to be more transparent ”.

13.19: always Rizzoli on hand fouls – Rizzoli talks about the criteria of hand ball: "First of all they are geometrical: position of the arms and point of contact of the ball. These are objective criteria to be analyzed. Then there are dynamic criteria of the player's movement. If the arm is along the body, it is never punishable. It is an area of ​​non-punishment. For example, in Atalanta-Udinese, Ter Avest's handball was rightly not a penalty. In case your arms are above your shoulders, it is foul. The geometric criterion is stronger than the dynamic one ”.

Still Montella, the most active: "On Bremer's hand ball in Parma-Torino, the Torino player made a gesture to protect himself, congruously".

Rizzoli answers: "No, an account that protects the face, another is if the volume of the body increases and the elbow comes out of the shape"

13.10: Rizzoli again on hand fouls – The designator examines the rigor for Roma for the touch with Callejon's arm: "In this case, too, the Naples approach was right because the captain just went to talk to the referee after the referee looked at the episode at the VAR. We were then lucky that no one who intervenes after the penalty beaten by Kolarov entered the area first. Otherwise it would have been a mess ”.

Montella intervenes: "For example, the 22nd of Napoli (Di Lorenzo, editor's note) blocks a Roma striker. If I had been a Giallorossi player I would have been penalized if there had been a rejection because it does not allow me to go on the ball "

12.52: Rizzoli on hand faults – The designator Rizzoli takes the floor explaining the new rules on handballs: "The changes that have been made have led to everything being more complicated. Much of the interpretation depends on the personal culture one has. We have moved from "voluntariness" to "touch". My feeling, however, is that not everyone has seen what was said in Coverciano in the summer and I do the mea culpa because we should have gone to every company to explain the regulation. We are available to reason and we are here to compare ourselves. One of the first changes is the hand ball in attack. When a player gets possession through a touch of arm and leads to a markup, then it is punishable ".

Rizzoli makes the first examples with Napoli-Cagliari and the touch of hand of Manolas that leads to the goal: "The behavior of the players has been perfect, because the captain comes to speak (Callejon, ed). When you mark with your hand a warning is provided and I doubt if it was known. I don't think it would be necessary to convince the referee that the warning is not needed, but at least it is done in the right way by the captain ".

12.45: the argument ends with Rizzoli's answer – Rizzoli's answer to what was said by Prade: "No, IFAB has forced us to use the VAR and the two possible cases are either to punish those who take the ball or punish everyone. Otherwise they would all be repeated".

12.43: also Prade in the discussion – Daniele Prade, ds of Fiorentina, speaks in favor of the number one in Salento: "Rule 14 (procedure for the execution of the penalty kick) will always be interpretative, there are situations in which the common sense of the referee prevails. I agree with the President of Lecce "

12.40: Lecce responds – President Saverio Sticchi Damiani, representative of Lecce, took the floor: "The regulation provides that in case of invasion of the players of the two teams the penalty must be repeated, without seeing what happens next. Then the regulation also provides for the hypothesis in which in the "area enters either an attacker or a defender. The VAR protocol that should see who benefits from the action refers only to the invasion of one or the other. We must understand each other. The idea that they both invade and the VAR only punishes one is something that does not hold. "

12.35: Rizzoli admits: "Lazio-Lecce, arbitration error" – Rizzoli examines Lazio-Lecce and Lapadula's goal canceled after Babacar's penalty: "The VAR immediately understands that Lapadula is inside and in the end communicates that he has entered the referee first. There is a basic arbitration error and we are not here to hide. We ask the race officials to get more than a meter from the area line so that you have the right perception of those who enter the area first. We can do more, there is no doubt about this. Of the penalty kicks you have made (it turns to the players, ed) they would have been to repeat 99%. We prefer to limit the cases by considering only the players who become decisive and come into contact with the ball. Either we remain like this or we punish everyone. Lapadula is inside the area, says the regulation ".

12.22: Rizzoli continues: "We will talk about the VAR" – "This year a change has been made that must be digested and fully understood. We will talk about the VAR and who is seen as having been present for a long time. The IFAB introduced it only in 2018 and Italy decided to leave only a year earlier. Undoubtedly there are improvements to be made. Knowledge of the regulation and the VAR protocol becomes fundamental. The VAR is not intended to eliminate errors. The principle with which the change of rules was made is to make football more understandable. This change was not only brought by the referees, but by all the components of football. The goal is to improve behavior and respect on and off the field, increase the actual playing time and this has happened "

12.21: six items on the agenda – The agenda of the meeting, strongly desired by the designator Nicola Rizzoli, was published on the screen of the room that is hosting the meeting between referees, captains and technicians of Serie A:

– Summary of regulatory changes
– Hand ball and VAR intervention line
– Offside and precision of 3D technology
– Fair Play, what can we do to improve
– Video Assistant Referee
– Various

12.17: takes the word Rizzoli – Serie A designator Nicola Rizzoli talks like this: "I believe this meeting is indispensable and the goal is to be as clear as possible. All together they should aim to give credibility to a sport that is the most followed in Italy. Today's agenda is made up of several points. We will talk about the hand ball and the lines of intervention of the VAR. We will talk about offside and talk about mutual respect ".

12.12: the opening of the federal president – The FIGC number one Gravina opens the meeting: “Good morning and thank you for accepting our invitation. I hope the day is decisive. We want to make a contribution in terms of participation. We need to be increasingly collaborative and participatory. There must be comparisons that can follow today. I thank Nicchi and Rizzoli for having prepared the technical material. Coverciano's Room Control will be important for the educational process of the future ".

12.08: Ancelotti is there, the press silence of Naples continues – The press silence ordered by the club at home in Naples continues. Carlo Ancelotti, a Neapolitan technician, respected him to the letter, who did not say a word during his entrance to the Hotel Parco dei Principi, here is the video of our correspondents.

Ontro Meeting #Aia-Teachers-Captains: the arrival of the technician of the #Naples #Ancelotti pic.twitter.com/DC3BQJNZdR

– Tuttomercatoweb (@TuttoMercatoWeb) November 19, 2019

12.05: also present Giovanni Carnevali of Sassuolo – The meeting is also attended by Giovanni Carnevali, managing director and general manager of Sassuolo. Coaches, captains and managers are taking place, the comparison is expected to start soon.

12.02: also Simone Inzaghi and D'Aversa present – Simone Inzaghi and Roberto D'Aversa, technicians from Lazio and Parma, are the last to arrive. For Toro there is instead Emiliano Moretti, since last summer he joined the grenade leadership, for Juve Andrea Barzagli and Giovanni Martusciello, both on Sarri's staff.

11.58: the Roma coach Paulo Fonseca has also arrived – Paulo Fonseca and Lorenzo Pellegrini are the representatives for Rome, the last to arrive at the meeting. The president of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina has also arrived, shortly preceded by Nicola Rizzoli, Gianluca Rocchi and Marcello Nicchi, the representatives of the arbitration class.

11:50 – The long awaited meeting between captains, coaches and referees is expected in Rome, at the Hotel Parco dei Principi, to talk about the many topical issues related in particular to the VAR. The Sassuolo vice-captain Domenico Berardi was the first to arrive, accompanied by De Zerbi, then followed by Senad Lulic of Lazio, Giampaolo Pazzini for Hellas, Daniele Gastaldello for Brescia and Stefano Pioli for Milan, accompanied by Giacomo Bonaventura.