Rocchi referee investigation dismissed, Inter cleared

The Milan Public Prosecutor has announced the dismissal of the case against ex-referee designator Gianluca Rocchi, his deputy Andrea Gervasoni and Inter, who had come under scrutiny over alleged attempts to influence the appointment of referees.

An investigation into Rocchi, Gervasoni, and other referees regarding alleged sporting fraud has been dismissed by the Milan Public Prosecutor.

No player or coach from any Italian team was known to be under investigation, but Inter had been under scrutiny, with suspicions that some of Rocchi’s referee appointments were made to please the Nerazzurri and to avoid match officials they didn’t like.

As reported by Gazzetta, Inter simultaneously entered into the register of suspects, but the proceedings against the club were immediately dismissed.

The main allegation against Rocchi, however, was that he put external pressure to influence VAR decisions during some Serie A matches.

Rocchi voluntarily stepped down during the investigation and was first replaced by Dino Tommasi and then by Daniele Orsato.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 05: Referee Gianluca Rocchi during the UEFA Champions League group H match between Chelsea FC and AFC Ajax at Stamford Bridge on November 05, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) In an official statement, quoted by Gazzetta , the Public Prosecutor’s Office said it had “requested that the Preliminary Investigations Judge dismiss the criminal proceedings concerning the offence under Articles 81 (continued offence) and 110 of the Italian Criminal Code, and Article 1, paragraph 1, of Law No. 401/1989, in relation to the alleged attempts to influence the selection or exclusion of match officials.”

With the same statement, the Milan Prosecutor’s Office said it had transferred the case file to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Monza regarding allegations relating to incidents that occurred in the VAR operations room.

Copies of the case file were also sent to both the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).

The investigation did not identify any structured scheme designed to influence the referee appointments.

The criminal investigation has been closed, but the review of the evidence relating to alleged influence on VAR will continue with the Monza Prosecutor’s Office examining the conduct of Luigi Nasca and Stefano Di Vuono, while Daniele Paterna’s position will continue to be examined in Milan.

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has received the case files to determine whether the facts may constitute violations of sporting regulations, although that appears unlikely given that no sporting investigation had previously been opened.