Tribal Football

Atalanta coach Gasperini rallies to support today's maligned referees: A mess!

Atalanta coach Gasperini rallies to support today's maligned referees: A mess!
Atalanta coach Gasperini rallies to support today's maligned referees: A mess!
Atalanta coach Gasperini rallies to support today's maligned referees: A mess!Action Plus
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has rallied to support today's referees.

Gasperini insists the modern laws of the game do not help referees in their officiating.

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“I must admit that their job has become impossible because of complicated rules,” he said.

“When it comes to contacts and handball, it’s a mess! There are too many different interpretations and too many differences between the leagues. Serie A and European competitions are two different sports. Look at the Euros. VAR hasn’t been used much, but it is used more often in Serie A. VAR decisions must be disciplined once and for all. Another thing that drives me mad is seeing players diving.”

He continued: “When a footballer dives, I get really mad. This is cheating. I didn’t protest against the single players.

“If a referee on the pitch is unable to assess the contact, he’d better change his job. Football without contact becomes more ugly. Like systematic passes to goalkeepers, IFAB should do something to avoid this nonsense, a perversion.

“Do you realise that in today’s football, the player with the most touches is the goalkeeper? I find speculative football horrible. Football should not go backwards but towards the opponents’ goal.”