The picture that emerges from the complaints of the excluded former referees: «Climate of terror and a circle of friends to be protected. Violations of the principles of correctness and loyalty”
Children and stepchildren. Referees to be promoted, others to be eliminated. Career advancement for “friends”, resignations for “enemies”. So more money or less money, up to 170 thousand euros a year for an international, zero for those who leavewho needs to find another job. And then the knock in the Var room “but only for someone.” For friends, precisely. Those to be “saved” from an error, “about twenty” according to an anonymous source who spoke to Agi after speaking to the prosecutor: “They were those from Rocchi’s club who turned to look at the “hunchback” and benefited from the suggestions.” In general, “a climate of terror” as described by Pasquale De Meo, assistant outside the Hague since 2024, one of the first to report what many – even within the association itself – define as the “Rocchi System”, which the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating for sports fraud.
The now ex-designator rejects the charges: “I will come out unscathed,” he said after his self-suspension. It won’t be easy: his career as an referee manager risks now being at the end of the line, even if the charges were to be dropped, given the never-short times of ordinary justice. Meanwhile tomorrow he will not show up for the interrogation.
If the infamous system exists and what it would consist of, the judges will decide. For now the picture that emerges from complaints from former referees such as Rocca, Minelli and De Meo, but also from those of Gavillucci who in 2020 wrote a book entitled “The Black Man”, is made of altered evaluations, failed promises, favoritism, piloted designations. Of “fist-paper-scissors” code signals to direct the decisions of the Var employees, “decisive gestures in the confidential meetings that were established every week, which everyone knew and experienced with discontent”. But also of threats, such as those always described by De Meo: «Rocchi’s attitudes not in keeping with his role»; «Gervasoni who raised his voice and came face to face with me»; «Orsato who called me on the phone, threatened me».
The VAR is often at the center: a testimony would have concerned Inter-Roma in 2025. And the dialogue that took place in the VAR room. “Mind your own business”: this would have been the response of the varist Di Bello to his assistant Piccinini who was reporting the foul on Bisseck. According to the testimony, Di Bello acted “on the recommendation of the supervisor Gervasoni”. Abbattista, former Varista, who resigned in 2024, when heard by the prosecutor, spoke of “purges” and spoke of “factions”. “An internal feud” defined it by the lawyer Grassani, an expert in sports law.
One of the issues is represented by the evaluations which at the end of each match are drawn up by the observer present in the stands and which at the end of the year, when added together, can also lead to the definitive rejection, that is to say the exit from Serie A: «It stands out partial use of votesthe absence of criteria in the designations, the violation of the principles of correctness and loyalty» writes the former linesman Rocca in his letter of complaint dated 2025.
It works like this: grades from 8.70 to 8.20, a sort of report card, like at school. This is the scale complete with reasons: 8.70 «error-free performance»; 8.60 «excellent»; 8.40 «without negativity»; 8.20 which highlights “serious errors”. Each negative grade corresponds to a more or less serious punishment, a ban: with an 8.20 you can stay at home for two months. Translated: you lose a lot of moneygiven that the fee per match is 4,000 euros gross for a referee, 1,700 for the VAR, 1,400 for assistants. The more you go on the pitch, the more you earn: a pieceworker’s salary, not the best if you have to manage a group of 42 referees, 72 assistants, 25 Varisti and Avar. Rivalries, denunciations and low blows are the order of the day in The Hague, which is described as “a rotten world” even by many who work there. Rocchi was perceived by everyone as a “strong man”, very close to the former federal president Gravina.
For some, the specter of failing was seen as a threat. «Are you knocking in the Var room? In Udinese-Parma it is clear that if that VAR employee has received a positive evaluation it will affect the vote and, consequently, the internal ranking that allows one to have or not the attendance fee” the revelation of the former whistleblower Minelli. As we can see, the scare of divestitures is central to this whole affair. The referees are not professionals and therefore do not even have a TFR for the end of their career: it was foreseen in the reform project which was supposed to start from next season, but which was blocked due to the chaos in the FIGC after the flop in the world qualifiers.
The background
- The reports ended up in the records From the complaints of former referees that ended up in the prosecutor’s investigation documents, the alleged system is made up of altered evaluations, broken promises and favoritism
- The round of money for whistles and Var At the center of the system there would be a round of money: the expected fee for each match is 4,000 euros gross for a referee, 1,700 for the VAR, 1400 for the assistants
- Performance ratings The scores assigned: 8.70 «Error-free performance»; 8.60 «excellent»; 8.40 «without negativity»; 8.20 which highlights “serious errors”. With an 8.20 you can stay at home for up to two months
