UEFA have cleared the path for British referees to take charge of Serie A games from next season and Perugia have already hailed the strategy as a success.
It was decided that Leagues in England, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain could run an exchange programme of referees.
In total this would include ten or fifteen officials and for every Serie A round of matches we could see up to two foreign refs in action.
The move was welcomed by Perugia President Luciano Gaucci, who was last week cautioned by the Disciplinary Commission for rallying against Italian referees.
The Grifoni patron claimed that there was “a conspiracy” against his club following pressure from the Federation to favour certain sides.
“This is the ideal solution to resolve a lot of problems in the Italian game,” insisted Gaucci following UEFA’s decision.
Perugia have not yet won a single game in Serie A, but this week qualified for the Third Round of the UEFA Cup thanks to a 1-1 draw against Aris Salonicco.
“We saw how Swiss referee Leuba was relaxed and confident during a very important UEFA Cup tie,” continued the controversial businessman.
“The official never tried to take centre stage, something that unfortunately happens all the time in Italy.”
“Every Sunday our referees are constantly under stress because they know that everyone is watching them like a hawk. This pressure causes mistakes which tend to favour the big clubs.”
One of the principle reasons referees are under so much pressure in Italy is Gaucci’s tendency to pinpoint every minor error and class it as evidence of a conspiracy, but he takes a different view.
“With foreign referees this would not be the case, as they only come in to the country the day before and leave after the match.”
Exchanging referees in Europe is not a new phenomenon, as Pierluigi Collina officiated a French League game between Olympique Marseille and Lyon this year and was also asked to take charge of a heated local derby in Greece.
It was decided that Leagues in England, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain could run an exchange programme of referees.
In total this would include ten or fifteen officials and for every Serie A round of matches we could see up to two foreign refs in action.
The move was welcomed by Perugia President Luciano Gaucci, who was last week cautioned by the Disciplinary Commission for rallying against Italian referees.
The Grifoni patron claimed that there was “a conspiracy” against his club following pressure from the Federation to favour certain sides.
“This is the ideal solution to resolve a lot of problems in the Italian game,” insisted Gaucci following UEFA’s decision.
Perugia have not yet won a single game in Serie A, but this week qualified for the Third Round of the UEFA Cup thanks to a 1-1 draw against Aris Salonicco.
“We saw how Swiss referee Leuba was relaxed and confident during a very important UEFA Cup tie,” continued the controversial businessman.
“The official never tried to take centre stage, something that unfortunately happens all the time in Italy.”
“Every Sunday our referees are constantly under stress because they know that everyone is watching them like a hawk. This pressure causes mistakes which tend to favour the big clubs.”
One of the principle reasons referees are under so much pressure in Italy is Gaucci’s tendency to pinpoint every minor error and class it as evidence of a conspiracy, but he takes a different view.
“With foreign referees this would not be the case, as they only come in to the country the day before and leave after the match.”
Exchanging referees in Europe is not a new phenomenon, as Pierluigi Collina officiated a French League game between Olympique Marseille and Lyon this year and was also asked to take charge of a heated local derby in Greece.
