Italian refereeing enters another decisive day with an election that is as much about stability as it is about the next president. The Italian Referees’ Association will choose a leader to serve until 2028, its fourth presidential vote in five years, after a period in which the office has repeatedly changed hands.
The assembly is being held in Rome at Via Po 36, with the first call scheduled for 8.30am and the second at 9.30am. Voting will take place online, and the result is expected before the end of the day.
Quick facts
- Three candidates are contesting the presidency: Francesco Massini, Carlo Pacifici and Narciso Pisacreta.
- There are 950 eligible voters: 206 section presidents, 733 regional delegates and 11 honorary officials.
- The North macro-region has 336 votes, ahead of the Centre on 323 and the South on 291.
- A candidate needs an absolute majority to win in the opening ballot; otherwise, a run-off will be held one hour later.
- The election follows the removal of former president Antonio Zappi, who received a 13-month ban.
Zappi’s case set the timetable. He was sanctioned by the Federal National Tribunal, the Federal Court of Appeal and the CONI justice court, while his appeal on the merits is due to be heard in February. Lazio’s regional administrative court rejected his request to suspend the sanction, leaving the association free to proceed with the election.
Massini, from Rome, has been acting at the top of the association since Zappi’s departure. His proposed vice-president is Michele Affinito. Pacifici, also Roman, previously led the AIA between 2022 and 2024 and has former AIA president Alfredo Trentalange as his running mate.
Pisacreta, from Salerno, was vice-president during the Marcello Nicchi era and worked as a leading assistant referee alongside Pierluigi Collina. He is standing with Emanuele Marchesi as vice-president.
The three-way contest is unusual for an association more accustomed to direct duels. Each candidate has spent recent weeks travelling around Italy to present his platform, with the central themes ranging from professional status for leading officials to technology, governance and protection against violence.
Professional status and the referee pathway
Massini’s programme calls for a more formal professional framework for elite referees. His position is that top officials can no longer operate under arrangements that fail to provide basic employment safeguards, and that their work should be supported by continuous preparation, modern training methods and injury prevention.
Pacifici places greater emphasis on building the elite from the local sections. He argues that young referees must find qualified instructors, clear development routes and proper guidance from the start, while any broader professionalisation project should involve UEFA, FIFA, federal bodies and the Labour Ministry on technical, employment, salary and pension questions.
Pisacreta also wants stronger financial and social-security protection for those at the highest level. He has suggested annual contracts that include statutory contributions and provisions that would support referees once their on-field careers finish, while maintaining continuity in their professional journey.
Technology without removing the referee
VAR remains a shared part of the debate, though the candidates frame it differently. Massini sees technology as an aid to decision-making rather than a replacement for the referee, and supports testing a system under which clubs could request a review within strict limits to avoid constant interruptions.
Pacifici argues that the next stage for refereeing must combine technical competence with innovation. He points to Italy’s willingness to test procedures introduced by IFAB, FIFA and UEFA, while insisting that any further development must be shaped jointly by rule-makers, referees and the wider football system.
Pisacreta stresses that the VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game sit with IFAB, but considers technology indispensable provided the match referee remains central. He notes that fewer mistakes would not automatically mean fewer complaints, and has floated a three-second referee countdown before a yellow card in cases of repeated but limited dissent.
Authority, governance and protection
Massini wants a clearer line between the political and technical sides of the AIA. He points to the creation of technical director Domenico Messina as a step in that direction, arguing that association leaders should set organisational policy while technical choices on appointments, assessment and training must rest on merit and expertise.
His platform also treats attacks on match officials as an issue for football, public institutions and society rather than the referees’ association alone. He proposes compulsory video-surveillance systems at every stadium to discourage assaults and help identify those responsible.
Pacifici frames refereeing as a social asset, saying that young people who take up the whistle gain responsibility and civic awareness. He wants more open communication around the work of officials, a more united association and greater investment in education, while identifying stewards and body cameras as practical protections against violence.
Pisacreta’s focus is on respect for roles and rules, alongside a greater willingness from referees to acknowledge and correct mistakes. He believes excessive criticism, including criticism from within football when the official has not erred, undermines authority and argues that explaining refereeing more clearly could narrow the distance between officials and the rest of the game.
On violence, Pisacreta wants aggressors pursued through every legal avenue available to the association. His campaign also includes the message that “the referee is our child”, an appeal for football to view young officials with the same patience and protection expected for its own players and families.
For Italian football, the vote is not simply an internal administrative matter. Since Trentalange’s election in 2021, followed by Pacifici’s spell in charge and Zappi’s election in 2024, the AIA has lived through recurring change at the top. The next president will inherit the task of restoring continuity while managing one of Serie A’s most exposed institutions.
