In Lecce, the spotlight once again fell on VAR and controversy rather than the pitch action. During the match between Lecce and Juventus, referee Colombo was twice called to the monitor by Mariani, leading to two Juventus goals being disallowed amid protests and boos. The decisions sparked immediate debate, particularly the second incident involving Vlahović’s positioning during a goal scored by Kalulu. A millimeter-level offside, barely visible to the naked eye, determined by a few centimeters and a single frame selected on the monitor. Modern football increasingly relies on technology, but questions persist about the reliability of these tools, which can have significant margins of error. The Open Var program reviewed the entire process, with commentary from Damiano Tommasi, and also covered incidents from Parma vs Roma and Milan vs Atalanta.
The evaluated incident in the Lecce vs Juventus match was the disallowed goal by Kalulu due to Vlahović being offside. “Possible offside,” came the voice from the VAR room, followed by, “Now we watch the full sequence,” as the Juventus defender made it 2-0. From there, the two referees at the Lissone base discussed the replay, starting with the pass from Koopmeiners to Vlahović. “I didn’t raise the flag here,” said Mazzoleni. “You didn’t raise the flag?” Mariani asked in a puzzled tone. The colleague replied: “Let’s see who the pass goes to, I’ll mark if needed. If you want, I’ll mark…” Then, blue lines were drawn on the defensive line, marking No.9 as the forward (Vlahović), and determining the starting point of Koopmeiners’ pass. Mazzoleni emphasized: “The system shows offside.”
Mariani added: “Okay, check if there’s an impact.” The replay continued to determine Vlahović’s position: “There’s contact here, right? Keep playing. Now rewind: there’s certainly contact here, we need to draw the lines accurately, and if needed, validate.” He then communicated to the on-field referee Colombo: “I think Vlahović is offside, but you need to see it yourself.” “Give me the system’s release point accurately,” Mariani told Mazzoleni, who responded: “Check the skeleton, the system shows offside.” At that point, the referee went to the monitor for an on-field review (OFR): “Yes, he also touches it. Okay, Moro, so there’s an impact…” Mariani confirmed: “Yes, I agree with you.” Colombo returned to the pitch and announced the goal disallowed.
Tommasi analyzed the millimeter offside decision: “Assistant referee Imperiale would have found it very difficult to judge this, it would have been impossible to see live. Mariani and Mazzoleni handled it well in the VAR room. They checked the release system, rotated the camera, cross-referenced data from the SAUT software, then determined the actual offside position. Since there was an impact, they called the referee for an on-field review. In this case, the impact was clear—there was even physical contact, so the defender did not have full freedom to play the ball, and the offside was correctly called. This wasn’t a direct VAR intervention but an on-field review because the impact was assessed by the referee. Colombo went to the monitor, watched the replay, and realized there was contact.”
The program then discussed the Parma vs Roma match, which had two incidents evaluated. The decisive one was the penalty awarded in stoppage time: “The contact between Rensch and Brizić? Chiffi looked to the right because the ball was there, his judgment was affected as he wasn’t focused on what was happening. The defender hugged the attacker, and his movement showed he wanted to stop him at all costs. The penalty decision was clear, with Rensch pushing slightly but minimally. VAR handled it well,” stressed Damiano Tommasi on DAZN’s Open Var, referring to the penalty awarded to Roma after a VAR review in stoppage time, where Mazzoleni and Paganesi were in the VAR room: “The attacker was ahead, both had pulls, but the ball went through. I suggest an on-field review, possible penalty.” Chiffi then went to the monitor and changed his on-field decision (previously he had awarded a defensive foul), giving Roma a penalty. The VAR room then said: “Parma’s No.27 already has a yellow card,” Mazzoleni reminded the referee.
Also at the Tardini, Open Var evaluated another incident from the first half involving Valenti and Mancini in the Parma box. In that attack, the home defender kicked the ball and the Roma player’s leg, with Chiffi allowing play to continue. The VAR room supported the on-field decision after multiple
