Published on 4/30/2026
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Last update: 19:39 (Mecca time)
The head of the referee selection committee in the Italian Football League, Gianluca Rocchi, refused to attend the investigation sessions scheduled in the context of accusations related to sports fraud, which sparked widespread controversy in arbitration circles in Italy.
Rocky was scheduled to appear before investigators today, Thursday, but he and his lawyer decided not to attend, justifying this by saying that the terms of the accusation were too vague for him to present an appropriate defense.
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Gianluca Rocchi said that he is committed to transparency with everyone, after he was accused of sports fraud.
Roque spoke to the “Le Eni” program, which pressed him regarding allegations that his interference in the affairs of referees was biased towards some clubs at the expense of others.
Roque said: “We work according to one principle only, so there are no major problems. I follow transparency with everyone in everything.” He added: “I repeat, I always work according to one principle only.”
When asked about the mechanism of the video referee (VAR) technology, he replied: “I have always been clear about that. I do not have to promise something that I have already done.”
A few days ago, 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.
Did the Italian rulers tamper with the VAR records?
Within the framework of the same investigations, the supervisor of referees in the Italian Football League, Andrea Gervasoni, was subjected to a four-hour investigation in the city of Milan, today, Thursday, and he stressed that the recordings of the Video Referee Technology (VAR) control room had not been tampered with against Inter Milan and Roma.
Gervasoni told reporters after leaving the police station: “I put myself at the judge’s disposal, and now I will wait. I have provided all the required answers.”
He and his lawyer, Michele Duce, confirmed that they were specifically questioned about two matches.
His lawyer said: “We talked about the match between Salernitana and Modena (in the second division), but we explained that Gervasoni was in another building, where he was watching the matches of the first division and not the second, so he did not interfere in any way.”
The investigations also witnessed another question about the match between Inter Milan and Roma last season, where a penalty kick was not awarded to Roma after Jan Pesek grabbed Ivan Ndyka’s shirt.
His lawyer added: “In this case too, we made it clear that Gervasoni was not involved, and the video confirms that as well. Everything happened in 15 seconds, and there was no time for intervention.”
He continued: “They asked us a quick question about that, nothing more.”
This clip was shown on the “Open Far” program on the “DAZN Italia” platform, where footage of the referee and the workers in the “FAR” room was played with their voices appearing.”
However, it was reported that the footage shown did not exceed 37 seconds, which is less than 50 to 60 seconds in the original clip.
Gervasoni said: “I am absolutely 100% sure that the audio of the Inter-Roma match was not tampered with, but we did not watch the clip today.
The essence of the accusations
The background to this scandal that shook the pillars of Italian football is due to serious allegations related to the 2024-2025 season, as Roque faces accusations of choosing referees “who are favored by Inter Milan” and putting pressure on video technology (VAR) referees to influence their decisions.
The investigations shed light on specific matches, such as Udinese vs. Parma and the Bologna vs. Inter Milan match.
These developments sparked violent reactions in the Italian media, which evoked the specter of the famous “Calciciopoli” scandal in 2006. The Corriere dello Sport newspaper described the situation as an “earthquake” that struck the referees’ committee.
Meanwhile, Tuttosport newspaper wondered whether Italy was facing a new Calciopoli, pointing to “the pressure on VAR referees and the referees’ suspicious choices.”
The Calciopoli scandal is considered the largest corruption and match-fixing scandal in the history of Italian football. It broke out in May 2006 and shook the pillars of international sports, and led to changing the map of Italian football for many years.
For his part, Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abudi entered the crisis line, describing it as a “very dangerous” matter, waving strict legal consequences that may amount to imposing complete guardianship on the referees’ committee to purge the system of any suspicions of corruption.
