Gervasoni says Inter-Roma VAR audio was not manipulated
Quick summary
Former VAR supervisor Andrea Gervasoni told investigators he is fully convinced the VAR audio from Inter-Roma was not manipulated. His comments came during a wider Italian refereeing investigation involving allegations of sporting fraud.
Full article
Attributed to Football ItaliaRefereeing supervisor Andrea Gervasoni spoke to investigators for four hours today and insists he is ‘100 per cent sure the VAR audio for Inter-Roma was not manipulated.’
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Italian football is dealing with yet another scandal after chief Serie A and B refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi was placed under formal investigation for sporting fraud.
So far there are also another four figures under investigation, all from the refereeing world, and the interrogations began today in Milan.
While Rocchi refused to attend, former referee and until recently VAR supervisor Gervasoni, who suspended himself following the investigation, did sit down for a four-hour meeting.
Gervasoni answers questions in referee investigation VERONA, ITALY – NOVEMBER 03: Referee Andrea Gervasoni during the Serie A match between Hellas Verona FC and Cagliari Calcio at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi on November 3, 2013 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images) “I put myself at the disposal of the magistrate and now I will wait. I gave all the answers that I needed to,” Gervasoni told reporters after leaving the police station.
He and his lawyer Michele Ducci confirmed that they were specifically asked about two matches.
“We talked about Salernitana-Modena, but we clarified that Gervasoni was in a different building. He was following Serie A, not Serie B games, so he did not interfere in any way.”
MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 05: Yann Aurel Bisseck of FC Internazionale in action during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Torino FC at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 05, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) Another question was about the Inter-Roma match last season, when a penalty was not awarded to the Giallorossi for Evan Ndicka’s shirt tug on Yann Bisseck.
“In this case too, we clarified that Gervasoni was not involved,” said his lawyer. “The footage also clarifies it. It all happens in 15 seconds, there wouldn’t even be time to intervene.
“They asked us a quick question about that and nothing more.”
The incident was shown on DAZN Italia television programme Open VAR, where the footage of the VAR is played with real time audio from the referee and those in the booth.
However, it’s reported the footage shown lasted only 37 seconds, missing 50-60 seconds from the original clip.
Gervasoni himself then spoke to the reporters about these allegations.
“I am 100 per cent sure the audio for Inter-Roma was not manipulated. But we didn’t see the clip today.”
TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 17: Referee Andrea Gervasoni signals a foul during the Serie A match between Torino FC and AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico di Torino on October 17, 2015 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) When it came to the supposed meeting at San Siro on April 2 where Rocchi is accused of colluding with unknown figures to make sure Daniele Doveri was not assigned to big Inter matches, Gervasoni’s lawyer distanced himself.
“That was not in the accusations and we did not talk about it, so I don’t know who was there on that April 2 meeting. We know nothing about the presumed favouritism for referees, because those were not put to us. We are not Rocchi.”
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What happened
Andrea Gervasoni spoke to investigators for four hours in Milan as part of an expanding probe into Italy's refereeing system. He said he is '100 per cent sure' that the VAR audio from last season's Inter-Roma match was not altered, despite reports that the televised clip was shorter than the original recording. His lawyer also said Gervasoni had no involvement in the key incidents under review, including the Inter-Roma penalty controversy. The case remains part of a broader investigation around referee assignments and possible manipulation within Serie A and Serie B officiating.
Chance analysis
This matters more for governance and competition integrity than for immediate team performance. Unless the investigation produces sporting sanctions or retrospective consequences, the direct betting impact on Inter or Roma is limited. For football models, this is mostly background noise rather than a strong predictive signal for upcoming matches.
Likely minimal short-term effect on Inter or Roma performance, but it adds low-level integrity noise around Serie A officiating.
Treat this as low direct predictive value unless the investigation leads to sanctions, suspensions, or proven officiating bias affecting future matches.