Lazio Calls for VAR to Be Removed from Serie A
After Lazio's match against Juventus, which ended in a 1-0 loss, Angelo Fabiani, the club's sporting director, demanded that VAR be abolished in Serie A. The controversy erupted when a clear foul by Douglas Luiz on Lazio's Patric went unnoticed just minutes before Juventus scored the winning goal.
The VAR had intervened earlier in the match to send off Alessio Romagnoli in the 25th minute, leaving Lazio with 10 men. However, when Douglas Luiz hit Patric with an off-the-ball punch to the back, VAR didn’t alert the referee. Lazio felt cheated and called for the end of VAR in the league. "I’d like to know what purpose VAR serves. Let’s abolish it because it’s doing untold damage this season, not just to Lazio," Fabiani told Sky Sport Italia.
Fabiani pointed out that despite clear video evidence, VAR didn't step in for the Luiz incident, but it did for Romagnoli's red card, even though the referee had already seen the play. He expressed frustration, especially since Luiz also made a rough tackle on Rovella that wasn't reviewed.
"The punch by Douglas Luiz was violent conduct, and I can’t understand why it wasn’t punished. We feel deceived," Fabiani added, emphasizing that the on-field referee wasn’t to blame since the incident was difficult to see with the ball in play.
He went further, calling for disciplinary action against the VAR officials. "If I make a mistake in the transfer market, my president would fire me. These officials need to be punished too. Maybe they need a two-month break."
This is the second consecutive matchday in Italy where VAR and refereeing decisions have been under fire. In the previous round, both Roma and AC Milan protested against controversial calls. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca called a game against Fiorentina a "circus" after three penalties were awarded, saying, "Any contact in the box is now a penalty." Meanwhile, Roma’s sporting director, Florent Ghisolfi, slammed VAR for failing to review a clear penalty on Tommaso Baldanzi during their match against Monza.