Italian Football Referees' Associaton President Says TV Replays Would End The Sport

Italian Football Referees’ Association President Marcello Nicchi "is very much against introducing television replays into Italian football," according to FOOTBALL ITALIA. On successive weekends that have seen contentious decisions in Serie A, discussion "has once more arisen of the possibility of television replays being introduced to aid referees in difficult calls." Nicchi said, "On replays, I have a very clear idea -- if tomorrow they were to come in, then we can begin to say that this sport is over. The task to enforce the rules is ours, but on the introduction of technology on to the field, more than a few questions arise." Nicchi also had his say on the current representation of foreigners in Serie A. He said, "Today I do not enjoy football and it is not what I am most passionate about. There are too many foreigners in the field, they do not understand the culture, nor the history -- there are players you have never heard about and we find them in Serie A" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 2/10).