Published On 4/29/2026
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Last update: 02:16 (Mecca time)
Italian football is going through difficult times against the backdrop of refereeing scandals that brought to mind memories of “Calciopoli” about 20 years ago, amid accusations of sports fraud related to influencing the appointment of referees, which prompted the sports street there to question the integrity of local competitions.
Former international referee Gianluca Rocchi (52 years old), who has been head of the Italian Referees Committee for 5 years, found himself at the center of a criminal investigation led by the Public Prosecution in Milan, on charges of sports fraud.
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Roque decided to officially suspend his duties and step down from his position in the first and second divisions following his investigation, with Dino Tomazzi assuming responsibility for appointing referees in the Italian first and second divisions until the end of the season.
Roque faces accusations of direct interference in the decisions of the Video Assistant Room (VAR), in addition to suspicions of directing the appointment of referees in a way that may serve certain clubs.
New Calciopoli scandal
In the midst of this crisis that shook the Italian press, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport asked: “Is this a new Calciopoli scandal?”
The details of the crisis began in March 2025 during the match between Udinese and Parma, in which the Video Assistant Technology (VAR) detected a handball inside the penalty area, and although the initial evaluation indicated that there was no violation, there was an “unusual intervention,” as described by the British website “The Athletic,” which was represented by knocking on the window of the VAR room that changed the course of the decision.
Then, arena referee Fabio Maresca was summoned to review the shot, and he awarded a penalty kick from which Udinese scored the winning goal (1-0), but according to the accusations, Roque is suspected of having “unusual interference,” in what may be considered a violation of video technology independence protocols.
In a new development, former referee Pasquale De Meo told the Italian News Agency that Roque had developed a system of kinetic signals that allows him to influence video technology decisions from outside the room, which is supposed to be completely closed to any external interference.
De Meo said: “There were signals that were agreed upon during the weekly meetings of the referees,” stressing that these practices were “known to everyone within the arbitration community.”
The referee, who retired two years ago, explained that he did not believe that the primary goal of these practices was to directly influence the results of the matches. Rather, he believed that Roque was seeking to protect referees in exchange for weakening others, as leaving mistakes without correction may lead to a lowering of the referee’s evaluation and thus his decline in the refereeing ladder at the national level.
This was what was previously indicated by assistant referee Domenico Rocca, who was forced to end his career due to his low ratings, as he filed a complaint with the Italian Football Federation and the Public Prosecution in Milan, in which he criticized the mechanism for evaluating referees and distributing matches within the committee, pointing to what he considered “administrative and technical violations.”
Later, the Italian Federation decided to dismiss the case after opening an internal investigation that concluded that there were no violations requiring sporting penalties, but the Public Prosecution in Milan expanded the scope of the investigation to include more serious suspicions related to tampering with the appointment of referees during sensitive matches.
Another incident
Roque is also suspected of being involved in coordinating the appointment of referees in a way that he believed might be in the interest of Inter Milan, in an incident dating back to April 2, 2025, during the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final against Milan.
At that time, it was claimed that it was agreed to appoint referee Daniele Dufferi for the second leg to avoid officiating other important matches for Inter later.
On the same night, it was decided to appoint referee Andrea Colombo to manage the match between Inter and Bologna, which the former lost 1-0 amid arbitration controversy. Despite the result, merely attempting to tamper with the appointment of the referee is considered a crime if proven, according to “The Athletic”.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, no official charges were brought against Inter or its officials, and the other parties involved were not clearly identified, raising legal questions about the nature of the evidence.
Rocky denies the accusations
Meanwhile, Gianluca Rocchi quickly denied all the accusations against him, affirming his complete innocence and his pledge to defend himself by various legal means to refute what he described as slander.
He added in a statement: “I am confident that I will emerge from this case unscathed and stronger than before.”
The crisis revealed the existence of deep unrest within the Italian Referees Association, which is essentially suffering from an administrative vacuum after the resignation and suspension of a number of its officials in previous cases, which led to the absence of leadership in one of the most important Italian football institutions.
This crisis comes at a very sensitive time, specifically less than two months before the Italian Federation presidential elections scheduled for next June, which comes after the Italian national team failed to reach the World Cup finals for the third time in a row, which led to the dismissal of former coach Gennaro Gattuso and the resignation of the Federation president from his position.
Investigations are still ongoing amid many questions, the most important of which is: Is Italian football facing a new scandal the size of Calciopoli, or will the case end without convictions?
