The Serie A refereeing scandal is expanding, with Luigi Nasca, Rodolfo Di Vuolo, and Daniele Paterna now facing investigation. This brings the total number of implicated officials to five, including Referee Designator Gianluca Rocchi and VAR supervisor Andrea Gervasoni. Italian media reports indicate that the number of individuals involved in this scandal could “significantly” increase in the coming hours.
Sources, including Gazzetta dello Sport, confirm that Nasca, Di Vuolo, and Paterna have been placed under investigation. They are suspected of providing false information to prosecutors. Daniele Paterna’s involvement comes after he appeared in a video that seemingly showed someone outside the VAR room offering guidance to officials on what to communicate to the on-field referee, a clear breach of protocol.
Investigators are operating under the belief that VAR officials were influenced by external parties, even through coded messages, thereby compromising their independent judgment. Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that the number of people under investigation could grow substantially in the immediate future.
The Milan Prosecutor’s office is scheduled to hear from Rocchi and Gervasoni on April 30. Rocchi’s lawyer, Antonio D’Avirro, has spoken out in multiple Italian media outlets, asserting his client’s innocence and describing Rocchi as being “deeply troubled” by the accusations.
“I met with him, and he’s demoralised because he believes he’s the victim of an injustice,” D’Avirro stated to Pressing. “He considers all the allegations to be unfounded. He has always acted loyally and transparently, and he is deeply troubled by being accused of something so serious.”
Rocchi has voluntarily suspended himself from his duties pending the investigation into alleged sports fraud. D’Avirro commented to Sport Mediaset, “Reference is being made to other people, but we do not know who they are. It is a multi-party offense, yet only Rocchi is named in the notice of investigation.” He further distinguished this case from the “Calciopoli” scandal, emphasizing that “here we are talking about only two or three individuals,” in contrast to the hundreds involved previously.
