Daniele Orsato Outlines New Serie A Referee Directives at Trento Festival

Daniele Orsato, head of the CAN Serie A and Serie B referee commission, addressed the public at the Palazzo della Regione during the Festival dello Sport in Trento, gazzetta.it reported. Orsato outlined his new technical and disciplinary directives for Italian match officials, addressing ongoing scrutiny over officiating standards, the implementation of VAR protocols, and the push for effective playing time.

The event brought together key figures in Italian sports journalism and officiating, with the former international referee offering a direct assessment of the opening weeks of the football season. Orsato acknowledged that mistakes have occurred on the pitch but stressed the physical and psychological demands placed on his officials, noting that refereeing requires rigorous preparation rather than automated precision.

Athletic Preparation and On-Field Presence

Orsato emphasized that match officials must maintain peak physical conditioning to manage top-flight matches successfully. According to details reported by ufficiostampa.provincia.tn.it, officials frequently cover more than 15 kilometers during a single match, making endurance a mandatory prerequisite for credibility on the pitch.

“The referee should disappear,” Orsato stated during the panel discussion, as noted by ansa.it. He pointed to Davide Massa’s performance during the recent Roma-Inter fixture as an example of a low-profile, authoritative direction where the official avoided becoming the focal point of the match. Orsato added that understanding tactical movements—such as anticipating where a player like Marco Verratti would move during his time at Paris Saint-Germain—allows officials to make decisions from close proximity rather than reacting from 80 meters away.

VAR Implementation and Managing Match Errors

Addressing the use of technology, Orsato clarified that VAR is designed exclusively to rectify clear and obvious errors rather than dissect every minor contact on the pitch, rainews.it reported. The commission head pointed to specific incidents from the current campaign, such as the penalty appeal involving a challenge by Pierre Kalulu on Jesper Rowe during a Juventus-Atalanta fixture, noting that technology remains a vital safety net for major oversights.

Orsato also drew a distinction between isolated mistakes and repeated mental lapses. “What bothers me more is the reiteration of a mistake rather than the mistake itself,” he said, as recorded by gazzetta.it. He accepted ultimate responsibility for the performances of his referee pool, stating that while mistakes are inevitable in a live sport, officials must immediately reset their focus rather than dwell on prior decisions.

Stricter Rules Reduce Match Stoppages

The commission has placed heavy emphasis on reducing stoppages in line with recent International Football Association Board (IFAB) directives. Orsato welcomed the stricter enforcement of rules concerning time-wasting, including protocol updates requiring injured players treated on the pitch to spend a brief period off the field, forcing teams to temporarily contest matches with numerical disadvantages.

“We want to play football with fewer pauses,” Orsato explained, according to ansa.it. He argued that focusing on effective playing time creates a more dynamic spectacle while preparing Italian clubs to compete at an international tempo.

Mentorship Builds Referee Resilience Amid Grassroots Violence

To secure the future pool of top-flight officials, Orsato detailed a mentorship approach aimed at instilling courage in younger referees. He described his communication with officials—often conducted during his walks in the woods—as an exercise in building mutual trust and psychological resilience.

In his closing remarks, Orsato addressed grassroots officiating, condemning rising instances of verbal and physical abuse directed at match officials in youth and amateur leagues. He shared that he has spoken with parents hesitant to allow their children to take up the whistle, calling such violence entirely unacceptable within sport.