The "new normal" in football as the sport feels its way back from the coronavirus crisis means games without fans, goals without celebrations and, in news that referees around the world will welcome, no angry swarms of players surrounding match officials to vent their frustration at a contested call: players in the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A and the Bundesliga will face a yellow card for not socially distancing from the referee at a distance of at least two metres. The proposal comes from Nicola Rizzoli, the Italian league's chief designator, and is backed firmly by the existing rule book, which states a player can be booked for verbally disagreeing with a decision. Now, in the coronavirus age, that will be the case whether they open their mouths or not. If a player (or players) comes within two metres of a match official to have their say they will automatically go in the book under Rizzoli's proposal, which is designed to protect officials during the Covid-19 pandemic. The current regulations state that only a team's captain can approach the referee, respectfully and without any verbal abuse. That would become the norm under the proposal but it will be difficult to implement, especially in contentious decisions around the penalty areas. However, referees will have carte blanche to produce the yellow for all infractions of this sort, which will place the onus on team captains and individual players to rein in their emotions for the remainder of the season. "Was the coronavirus needed to say that players should keep their distance from the referee when they protest?” asked Marcello Nicchi, head of the Italian referees' association. (Source: AS)
Refereeing designator Nicola Rizzoli assures Serie A will be able to count on VAR technology when the season resumes. There were concerns that social distancing guidelines would scupper the use of the Video Assistant Referee system during the coronavirus pandemic. “We made enormous efforts to secure everything and we will be able to resume by using technology,” Rizzoli told Rai Radio 1. “Clearly, this will also guarantee uniformity to the season overall. It will work because there will be the VAR and AVAR, plus the technology operator, while the person whose job it is to send the footage to the director will be in another room. Therefore, with only three people in the room, we can allow for social distancing, along with a Plexiglas barrier and face masks. Hopefully, that will reduce the risks to an absolute minimum.” Rizzoli is also open to the idea of five substitutions if the FIGC and Serie A accept the FIFA option. (Source: Football Italia)
