Italian football is on the brink of a new refereeing scandal, bringing back memories of the infamous ‘Calciopoli’ affair.
Gianluca Rocchi, the referee coordinator for Serie A and B, resigned over the weekend after the Milan public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into allegations of sports fraud against him. Andrea Gervasoni, the VAR supervisor, also followed suit with a similar decision, as announced by the Referees’ Association (AIA) in a statement on Saturday evening. Further personnel consequences will be discussed shortly.
According to the investigation, Rocchi is accused of exerting pressure on referees and influencing VAR decisions. Furthermore, there are allegations that he selected referees who were perceived to be favorable to Inter Milan when assigning matches, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport. Several games from the current 2025/2026 season are under scrutiny.
Rocchi (52) has denied the accusations, stating that he has always acted correctly. He explained that his self-suspension was to avoid hindering the investigation process. He has been the referee coordinator for Serie A and B since 2021.
Scandal Evokes Memories of Juventus Turin’s Forced Relegation
The Italian sports justice system is also involved, with the FIGC prosecutor’s office requesting the investigation files from Milan. Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has indicated that consequences will follow if the allegations are confirmed.
The current scandal is reminiscent of the ‘Calciopoli’ affair, which resulted in the relegation of record champions Juventus Turin to Serie B in 2006. The club was implicated in a match-fixing scandal involving the manipulation of referee assignments. Following a verdict on July 14, 2006, Juventus was not only demoted to the second division, but also stripped of their league titles from the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons. Consequently, Juventus played in Serie B during the 2006/07 season, achieving direct promotion back to Serie A after just one year.