GENOA, ITALY – AUGUST 22: Referee Marco DiBello (left) reacts during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SSC Napoli at the Stadio Luisi on August 22, 2026 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simon Avida/Getty Images)
Designator Daniel Orsato confirmed there have been five major refereeing and VAR errors this season, including games at Juventus-Atalanta, Torino-Milan, Como-Parma and Fiorentina-Frosinone.
Representatives of Serie A and the 20 clubs are meeting today at the Lissonne Center near Milan, where all VAR officials process footage from various matches.
They discussed the changes in approach this season, showing clips of various controversial incidents to explain the decision-making process.
This also includes admitting a number of mistakes, four of which were in Serie A and one in the Coppa Italia.
Where VAR and referees make mistakes
The latest blunder came this weekend when Juventus beat Atalanta 2-0 in Serie A.
Osato admits VAR should have intervened after Pierre Kalulu pulled Jonathan Rowe’s shirt, awarding Atalanta a penalty with the score only 1-0.
This is thought to be similar to the situation in the Coppa Italia midweek, when Pellegrino was brought down by Antonio Caracciolo in Fiorentina’s win over Pisa without VAR alerting the referee.
Fiorentina made two mistakes in their other Serie A match against Frosinone, notably Hilario Monterisi’s penalty and Alex Jimenez’s red card.
Milan should have been awarded a penalty in their away win at Turin as Nikola Vlasic’s handling of the attack warranted an on-site VAR review.
Despite Cesc Fabregas’s protests in the hall, Osato reiterated that Como midfielder Maxons Caguirre deserved a red card for his challenge on Parma’s Sasha Birgegi.
However, the referee’s designee stood by his decision not to award Milan a goal against Juventus after Coney de Winter challenged Randall Kolo Muani in the build-up to the game.
He also confirmed it was not Roberto Gagliardini’s penalty for his challenge on Konan Endri in Cagliari-Lecce.
When it comes to other controversial incidents, such as Kevin De Bruyne’s push against John Vazquez in front of Napoli’s goal against Genoa, or Torbjörn Hegem’s challenge on Gaetano Oristagno in this weekend’s Bologna-Torino match, Osato insists the referee had a clear understanding of the situation and made his judgement.
VAR should only step in to correct clear and obvious errors, or where the referee did not clearly understand the situation.