Five rounds into the Serie A season, the new refereeing direction associated with Daniele Orsato has become part of the wider conversation around the championship. Meetings with coaches and journalists have brought the issue into focus: officiating may now be more demanding, but referees appear to have clearer principles with which to manage that greater responsibility.
The central idea is to restore the referee’s authority in the middle of the pitch. In recent years, VAR could sometimes seem to take ownership of decisions that belonged to the on-field official. The current UEFA approach, aligned with Orsato’s line, places more weight back on the original call. Referees are expected to decide in real time, including in the pressure of decisive moments, rather than wait for technology to provide the answer.
That is not a simpler task. At Serie A level, refereeing cannot be reduced to automatic formulas, such as treating every handball incident in the same way. Positioning, timing, interpretation, awareness of the players’ movements and the ability to read a match all matter. The higher the level of the game, the more every small detail can change the outcome of a decision.
The clearer framework is especially important for younger officials, described by Orsato as “children” in the sense that they are still learning the particular demands of Serie A. They do not yet know every pressure point of the division, nor have they necessarily handled its most difficult fixtures. Their development depends on being given recognisable guidance as they grow towards those assignments.
Former Serie A players have also noted a greater sense that referees know the standard they are trying to apply, even when a decision proves wrong. Mistakes have not disappeared in the opening weeks: some penalties may have been missed, while certain VAR interventions may not have arrived. Yet there have been no soft penalties awarded for marginal contacts, nor reviews triggered by insignificant episodes. The threshold appears higher, but, crucially, more understandable.
A more physical job until the final whistle
The other consequence of the new direction is physical. Matches are being allowed to flow for longer, both through a preference for continuity and through the application of recent rules. Fewer stoppages require referees to sustain their concentration and running intensity deeper into the contest.
Refereeing already places heavy strain on the cardiovascular system because of the tension attached to every major call. When the rhythm rises and play remains uninterrupted, fatigue inevitably grows too. And tiredness can bring errors, just as it does for footballers.
Johann Cruyff once observed that goals would not exist without mistakes. The same principle applies to officiating: as the game becomes faster and more intense, accurate judgement becomes harder to preserve over 90 minutes. Serie A’s new refereeing course therefore asks for more authority, more technical preparation and greater physical resilience. Its ambition is not to remove the human element from the game, but to ensure that the referee is equipped to carry it.
