All 18 Serie A matches throughout the opening two rounds of the 2026-27 season had been accomplished with out a single referee strolling to the pitch-side monitor for an on-field assessment. VAR operated solely via silent checks, a deliberate shift launched by referee chief Orsato and his colleague Messina.
What the brand new commonplace requires
The coverage, sourced from UEFA tips and applied by Orsato and Messina, units a excessive bar for intervention. VAR will solely step in when an error is obvious, apparent and past cheap doubt. Plain bodily contact between gamers now not qualifies as a foul below the brand new framework.
The strategy produced measurable leads to spherical one. Common efficient enjoying time reached 58 minutes and 17 seconds, up from 54 minutes and 20 seconds within the opening spherical of final season. A number of managers welcomed the change, in accordance with Tuttomercatoweb-affiliated outlet Donquiudi.
Incidents VAR stayed silent on
Three moments drew specific consideration. Berardi‘s aim for Sassuolo towards Torino carried a suspicion of offside, Dragusin was concerned in a penalty-area problem for Fiorentina, and Arajubegovici and Keita clashed within the field throughout Juventus towards Parma. In all three instances VAR didn’t request an on-field assessment.
Officers defined the Juventus incident particularly: Keita prolonged a leg, however the defending participant had his foot planted firmly on the bottom, so no foul existed and VAR staying out was the proper name.
A divided response and the boundaries of the rule
Final season’s spherical two alone produced 4 on-field opinions, and critics on the time complained that VAR was interrupting matches too usually over minor contact. Now the pendulum has swung the opposite approach, and a piece of followers and media really feel VAR has successfully disappeared.
The brand new rule applies solely to Serie A. Serie B referees continued to make use of pitch-side screens throughout the identical interval. The referee group acknowledged the reform wants time to settle, with the said aim of avoiding each extreme intervention and uncorrected critical errors.
