The referee Rocchi confirmed the correctness of Fabbri‘s decision during Inter–Genoa. The referee booked Calhanoglu for a midfield challenge on Caleb Ekuban in the second half, ruling out the possibility of a straight red card for a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Open VAR made public the audio from the decisive moment. Fabbri immediately explained his choice: “Yellow, yellow, yellow: he’s very far from the goal.” From the VAR room came confirmation of the need to check: “Foul yes, let’s see a possible DOGSO.” The referee then clarified his reasoning to the players: “I’ll explain it to you, because in reality he’s not really the last one and, moreover, he’s going that way and is far away.” The VAR then concluded: “Perfect. The check is complete, I confirm the booking, Calhanoglu.”
Speaking in the DAZN studios, the referee chief analyzed the incident: “The decision on the field is correct: and when they make the right decision on the field, everything becomes much simpler.” Rocchi highlighted how the DOGSO parameters were correctly assessed: “You could have one here, which is control of the ball because it would remain in his possession. But the others, direction, distance, and recovery on the opponents, none of these can lead to DOGSO, definitely the correct decision.”
The referee chief concluded by emphasizing the referee’s clarity: “When I hear the referee explain an incident so clearly, it’s because he has clear ideas: they don’t always do it because they’re not always certain of the decision made.”
