VAR Has Made 13 Errors in Serie A This Season as Former AC Milan Riccardo Montolivo Labels it “a Mess”
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology has been under intense scrutiny this season, in what is turning out to be its most controversial year since being adopted in 2017.
Charlie Rhodes
Updated on 08 January 2026
Former Fiorentina and AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has scolded the string of questionable refereeing performances of late, taking aim at Serie A VAR controversy that refuses to die down.
From current managers and players, to former stars and pundits, everyone involved in Serie A is seemingly lashing out at referees on a weekly basis.
Controversy appears to be reaching breaking point, with matches turning ugly and managers increasingly frustrated at decision points that would eventually prove decisive.
Fabio Capello claimed “referees are a mafia” in an astonishing interview earlier this month, and called for at least one former player to be in the VAR room to “recognize the movements” of players.
He said: “With UEFA, we analyzed 20 situations in which penalties were awarded. When reviewed by former players and coaches, six of them were given as penalties and 14 were not.”
The AIA (Italian Referees’ Association) has already been forced to publicly admit several mistakes this season, including a potentially decisive moment in the title race, which saw a Christian Pulisic goal wrongfully disallowed that may well have moved AC Milan above leaders Inter.
This has been followed by a slew of recent incidents, not least Wednesday’s slate seeing Napoli manager Antonio Conte slam officials over a disallowed Rasmus Hojlund goal, before Maurizio Sarri did the same following a controversial VAR call in Lazio’s stalemate against Fiorentina.
While Serie A referee designator Gianluca Rocchi has – on more than one occasion – acknowledged mistakes throughout the campaign, he recently threatened to resign if referees’ integrity continued to be called into question.
Riccardo Montolivo Lambasts VAR For Having Too Much “Power”
Former Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has chimed in with his take on the recent performances of referees, and boldly claims VAR has too much power over on-field officials.
Speaking to Sky Italia, he said: “They are not improving in using VAR. The referee on the pitch has less and less power, and the VAR referee is having more. To me, it should be the other way around.”
“VAR should save the referee when he makes a big mistake. That’s it. Does he think it’s a penalty? It can be or not, the referee evaluates it. Like this, it’s a mess.”
It is worth exploring Montolivo’s claim a little bit further – is VAR intervening unnecessarily?
How Many Errors Has Serie A VAR Made This Season?
As part of their new transparency initiative, the AIA released their latest data on mistakes and corrections, in relation to VAR.
VAR Performance (Mid-Season 2025/26)
Charlie Rhodes
Charlie has built a deep portfolio across a wealth of sports websites, with a heavy focus on Europe's top five leagues. He has a long-standing interest in Serie A having grown up watching Football Italia on Channel 4 as a child. With extensive experience tailored towards news, long-form content and heavily researched features, Charlie has also garnered experience in several roles in the fintech and marketing sector.
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