There Is A Discourse On The Elimination Of VAR If Serie A Is Active Again
JAKARTA - Serie A has started discussions on canceling the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) for the remainder of the season, as a step to protect the health and safety of match officials from the COVID-19 or coronavirus outbreak.
The daily Corriere dello Sport reports that Serie A envisions special rules to protect the health of the referee team if they return to the field.
First on the list, is to tackle a problem pointed out by the President of the Italian Referees Association (AIA) Marcello Nicchi about travel arrangements in his interview with TMW Radio.
Match officials usually travel by commercial flight and rail to reach their respective destinations and without an operator specifically sanitized for their journey in Italy.
"As football continues, we have to remember that referees are most at risk, because they have to travel all over Italy and meet foreigners. We just ask to be protected. There are conditions to ensure safety and we have to take them into account," said Nicchi. Adapted from the Italian Football, Tuesday, April 8.
"There are still 600 people dying per day, we can't talk about sports. I hope that after all this, people can realize the beauty of sports, how much we miss them and why we should be kind to each other. If we come back and there is still violence or racism in the stands, it will make me shudder. "
Nicchi also discussed the use of VAR. Corriere revealed, Serie A is ready to cancel technology assistance.
Not without reason, the use of VAR involves too many technicians and referees in just a few square meters. This means that the rest of the season can continue without the use of VAR.
“If we don't use VAR, it's because we can't guarantee safety in overcrowded environments. This is why we want to concentrate all VAR decisions on the Coverciano camp in Rome, "explained Nichhi.
"We all have to make sacrifices, so if football continues without VAR, we will face it. I'll be honest, I don't care, "he concluded.