The former coach, now a TV commentator, defined the Italian refereeing class in this way in an interview with Marca. But now a note has been released that intends to clarify: “That term was used only to clarify that the Italian arbitration class operates as an extremely closed organization”
“The referees are a mafia.” Fabio Capello, interviewed by Marca, expressed himself this way about match directors. A phrase “exploited and used inappropriately”, as stated in a note released later. All after his words went around the web. This is the statement from the former coach of Milan, Roma and Real Madrid: “The referees are a mafia – he said -, and the VAR is a closed caste. They don’t want to rely on former players, that is, people who know the movements of football, the gesture a player makes to stop or help himself. They often make incorrect decisions because they haven’t played football. A player is touched in the face, he throws himself and the whistle is blown. If I’m 1.90m tall and the other 1.75m tall, when I move my arm it’s up to his face, why are you whistling? This drives me crazy.”
THE NOTE
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This is the clarification note from the coach, however, released in the afternoon with a note: “Fabio Capello specifies that when, in reference to the referees, he used the term ‘mafia’, he did so only to clarify that the Italian refereeing class operates as an extremely closed organisation, which very rarely accepts real moments of confrontation and does not appear willing to allow sportsmen or former sportsmen who are not part of the same refereeing class to enter the VAR rooms, as he suggested several times in public statements and amply clarified in the continuation of the interview”. We also read that “Capello takes this opportunity to renew his respect for the work and professionalism always demonstrated by Italian referees and the category in general. He also expresses his regret for how a completely decontextualized phrase was exploited and used inappropriately”.
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