The refereeing error in Thursday evening’s match between France and Italy angered the Italians, who obtained from UEFA the change of rules for the Euro Espoirs.
It is becoming increasingly rare to see high-level matches without referee assistance. All stadiums and all championships are not equipped to allow this, but errors or controversies obviously make it possible to work miracles. At the Euro U23 which is currently taking place in Romania and Georgia, the match between Italy and France was marked by an arbitration decision which enraged an entire country. While Les Bleuets were leading with a handful of seconds remaining, Raoul Bellanova placed a header that hit the post before the ball was cleared by Castello Lukeba from the belly. Despite the protests of the Italians, who demanded a hand from the French defender but above all a validated goal because the ball had crossed the line, the referee and his assistants let the game unfold until the final victory of the Bleuets.
The Paris Olympics are at stake
According to the Gazzetta, the ball had gone in “at least 30 centimeters” on the last action and Bellanova’s header 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/8a2LU1JCrk
— GuillaumeMP (@Guillaumemp) June 23, 2023
The slow motion of the television cameras, even if the angle was not perfect, however revealed a ball largely retracted, several tens of centimeters. Italian anger is understandable, especially since refereeing error is possible, but the fact that the goal-line technology is not installed for a tournament of this importance has made our transalpine neighbors scream. Result, Sky Italia affirms, UEFA will implement goal-line technology and VAR for Euro matches from the quarter-finals, a major change that was not planned in Specifications. The Italian federation said that due to the importance of such a tournament, which still opens the doors to the Olympic Games for European teams, it was not possible to do without technological tools to help the referees.
