The Collu Case: From the Spotlight to Obscurity After Milan-Lazio
A growing controversy surrounds referee Collu, a young match official who appeared destined for a fast-rising career in Italian football. A promising trajectory, abruptly cut short after one specific episode: Milan-Lazio, a match that may have marked a turning point — a negative one — in his season.
What Happened During Milan-Lazio
During the clash between the Rossoneri and the Biancocelesti, Collu made a decision in favour of Milan, later deemed correct by the Italian Referees’ Association itself. The referee was called to the monitor by VAR, where — according to multiple reports — he was put under significant pressure to overturn his original call. Collu, however, stood his ground: he remained firm in his judgement, convinced of its accuracy. A courageous choice that, unfortunately, appears to have come at a steep price.
The Numbers Tell the Story
The statistics are striking. Before Milan-Lazio, across the first 13 matchdays of the season, Collu had officiated 8 matches — an impressive workload for a developing referee, clearly reflecting the trust placed in him by the top brass of Italian officiating. After that game, over the following 13 matchdays, his assignments dropped to just 3.
Such a sharp decline is difficult to explain on purely technical grounds. It represents a financial loss, as fewer matches mean lower fees, but above all it constitutes a reputational blow for a referee who was building his standing at the highest level of Italian football.
The Implied Message: Does VAR Call the Shots?
Collu’s situation raises a fundamental question about the role of VAR in Italian football. In theory, the technology should simply alert the on-field referee to review an incident, leaving the final decision in his hands. In practice, however, things seem to work rather differently.
When a referee who has the courage to stick to his call — one later confirmed as correct — is then gradually frozen out of match assignments, the message sent to his colleagues is unmistakable: fall in line.
Not Just Milan-Lazio: Recent Precedents
Similar episodes have occurred in other matches as well. In a recent game involving Parma, the referee was confident in his decision, yet the VAR official managed to persuade him to change it. Subsequently, in Cagliari-Parma, the referee intervened twice to penalise alleged blocking by Parma players on Cagliari goalkeeper Caprile, only for it to later emerge that the original non-calls were correct, as the blocks were perfectly legal.
This sequence of incidents fuels growing concerns about the consistency and independence of refereeing decisions in Serie A.
Milan and the Refereeing Debate
For AC Milan and its supporters, the Collu affair represents yet another chapter in a season where refereeing controversies have frequently made headlines. The Rossoneri, however, have always shown they can respond where it matters most — on the pitch — relying on their quality and never allowing off-field disputes to derail their focus.
Nevertheless, transparency in match assignments and in the way VAR operates remains a topic that concerns the entire Italian football ecosystem and deserves an open, constructive debate in the interest of Serie A’s credibility.
