There is set to be more controversy over referees after Eugenio Abbattista turned whistleblower on the ‘disgusting things’ he saw at the AIA (Italian Referees Association). Italian television show Le Iene had already aired interviews with a former official whose identity remains unknown, as his face and voice were disguised. Now they will air another segment on Thursday, but this time the referee is open about his career and status.
Abbattista claims he tended his resignation several weeks ago from the AIA specifically so that he could be “free to denounce the disgusting things that were around me.” Referees are not allowed to speak to the media without authorisation and Abbattista said that after repeatedly being denied permission, he took the drastic step of resigning after 24 years of officiating. He sent a message to the group chat with several colleagues that also suggested what he has to say will be explosive. “Getting off a moving train is risky. But getting off a train that is stuck in the stink of prejudice, victimisation and ungrateful lack of memory is the smartest thing I could do at this point. I walk away just as I did with the pitch, thanking them for the gift and the opportunity. Now my priority is to defend my professional and managerial image, my family and to give a lesson to my children, that if your conscience is clear, you are always free for your actions and deliberations. This is not a protest, anything but. It is exclusively a personal need to look after myself. With the resignation to the AIA, which sadly is currently being raped by those who cling to power at all costs, I am finally free to be myself and express my thoughts. I will not need a disguise or to sit in shadows to talk, as some others did.” The 41-year-old from Bari officiated 34 Serie A matches in his career.
Source: Football Italia