Daniele Orsato, the newly appointed referee designator for Serie A and Serie B, has outlined his officiating philosophy to his referees, committing to clearly distinguishing between genuine fouls and incidental physical contact during play.

Orsato elaborated on his vision on Rai Radio 1: "We will focus on training referees to strictly penalize fouls, not to whistle for normal physical contact during a match." This sets the guiding principle for the new season. "The schedule has been very tight recently, and we are studying the individual characteristics of each referee. We need to establish clear guidelines for young referees and also improve their physical fitness and refine their excellent officiating techniques."

The new head of referees also addressed two long-standing debated topics in Italian football: "penalty controversies" and diving.

"We will strictly adhere to the rules and strive to correct errors, minimizing misjudgments as much as possible. My team will operate with utmost sincerity and dedication." Regarding diving, he promised vigilance: "We will monitor it throughout. The phenomenon of diving is currently on a downward trend."

Orsato specifically mentioned Maurizio Mariani, Italy's only referee at the World Cup, as a benchmark: "His performance in the three matches he officiated at the World Cup was excellent; he will be our guide on the field and a role model for young referees."

When asked about the officiating at the World Cup, he did not hesitate to praise Slavko Vinčić's performance in the final, while completely sidestepping the Balogun controversy: "I am not interested in this topic. The impact of such events extends beyond my scope." His remarks further outline a new era for Italian referees — next season, VAR will be used to review incorrectly awarded corner kicks and second yellow card decisions, a change led by UEFA and advanced by Orsato.

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