The selections by Rocchi for the 29th round of Serie A are in, with Fabbri set to officiate the tussle between Fiorentina and Juventus, Mariani taking charge of Venezia against Napoli, and Marchetti at the helm for Milan's clash with Como. The grand spectacle on Sunday night at the Gewiss Stadium pits Atalanta against Inter, a match that could play a pivotal role in the title race, not to mention a tricky assignment for Rocchi given this season's endless controversies.
Last week, he managed to avoid trouble with Sozza officiating the Juventus-Atalanta match, albeit with Thiago Motta protesting the penalty awarded to the Dea for McKennie's handball that opened the scoring. Rocchiโs full faith is now placed on Massa from Imperia as he takes the whistle.
Pairetto and La Penna have been sidelined after significant errors in the Roma-Como match, while Abisso is limited to VAR duties following his missteps in Parma-Bologna. Marchetti will oversee Milan-Como, having had a less than stellar outing in Juventus-Verona.
In Massa's previous ties with Atalanta, he's taken charge twice this season, against Lecce and Lazio. His officiating in the Lazio encounter drew ire as he let Isaksen off without a second yellow after a reckless challenge on Cuadrado. Overall, from 24 encounters, Atalanta has managed 8 victories, with 6 draws and 10 losses to his name.
Interestingly, Serie C's Gabriele Gravina is pushing for a revamped VAR system, potentially extending it to womenโs Serie A and Serie D in the future.
Massa has officiated Inter just once this season, a match against Roma which left fans unsettled over his failure to send off Cristante for a severe foul on Thuram. In his 28 matches involving the Nerazzurri, theyโve claimed triumph in 18 of them, drawing 5 and losing the remaining 5. Itโs worth noting that the ranks of referees have been thinned out due to suspensions and injuries, with Di Marco still recovering from a September fixture and Guida only able to serve at VAR.
This weekโs match-up sees the return of Chiffi as he takes over for the Torino-Empoli match. In a notable fixture, expert Mariani will referee Naples' visit to Venezia while Fabbri takes control of the considerable encounter between Fiorentina and Juventus. The day rounds off with Manganiello for Monza-Parma, Ayroldi for Udinese-Verona, Colombo officiating Bologna-Lazio, and Piccinini managing Roma-Cagliari.