August 05, (THEWILL) — Serie A referees will announce Video Assistant Referee decisions live in stadiums and on television broadcasts beginning with the 2025/2026 season, marking a significant shift in how officiating decisions are communicated to supporters. The initiative, announced by referee designator Gianluca Rocchi, aims to enhance transparency between match officials and spectators during controversial moments in Italian football’s top division.
Rocchi explained that the move represents an important step forward in referee communication, with the primary objective of making officiating decisions both quicker and clearer for everyone involved. “We have a select group of officials and we want to ensure the language is as uniform as possible so that decisions can be clear to the public,” Rocchi stated during his announcement to Italian media outlets on Tuesday.
The implementation will involve referees explaining their final decisions following VAR On-Field Reviews, using stadium public address systems to communicate directly with crowds in attendance. The Italian Football Association has been working with a specialised group of referees to develop consistent terminology and protocols that will be used across all Serie A matches to maintain uniformity in decision explanations.
This approach to referee transparency follows similar experiments in other major European leagues, including England’s Premier League and Germany’s Bundesliga, where officials have begun providing brief explanations for VAR interventions. The Serie A becomes the latest major competition to adopt this practice, which has received mixed reactions from supporters and football professionals in other countries.
The new procedure will debut when the Serie A season commences on August 23, with fans in stadiums and viewers at home hearing directly from referees about key decisions that affect match outcomes. Football authorities hope the increased transparency will help supporters better understand the reasoning behind VAR interventions and potentially reduce criticism directed at match officials during and after games.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
