Serie A referees designator Gianluca Rocchi has stated that Sassuolo star Domenico Berardi should’ve been sent off against Juventus a couple of weeks ago.
VAR decisions in Serie A are now analysed and critiqued by the referees designator on a show called Open VAR on DAZN and vital officiating decisions are looked back on regularly. This show was introduced fairly recently after an agreement was struck between FIGC and DAZN.
Rocchi appeared on the show recently and he spoke about the game involving Sassuolo and Juve from Gameweek 5, which saw the Neroverdi pick up an impressive 4-2 win over Max Allegri’s side. Domenico Berardi starred in that game, but Rocchi told Open VAR that the Italian should’ve been sent off by referee Andrea Colombo (via TMW)
Berardi had fouled Berardi above the ankle but after a VAR check, he was only shown a yellow card. Rocchi said:
 “On a procedural level, an excellent approach was taken, we evaluate the VARs not only for the decision made, but also for other parameters. However, we as referees must also protect the danger that a player creates.
“Therefore, there is a different evaluation compared to what happened on the pitch, as can be heard from the audio in the VAR room where Fabbri and Di Martino were present: “It’s a bad foul but it doesn’t strike properly, the contact point is high, VAR completed, you can resume the game.”
Berardi had been vital for Sassuolo in the game, scoring in the first half and impressed in the second half.
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Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
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