His words: “We no longer recognize ourselves in this soccer; the referees should step back.”

The controversies surrounding referee Stieler do not abate. Following Claudio Ranieri’s outburst at a press conference, Fabio Caressa further intensified the situation on Sky Sport: “The referee should not and cannot be a protagonist, he must be invisible on the field.” The journalist then added, “Today, Ranieri has highlighted the referee’s statistics, something that was unthinkable until a few years ago. No one was showcasing the data of the match officials. I cannot stand the term ‘central role of the referee’; the referee should not be central to this game but should only be a tool, they should not have a starring role.” Another intolerable thing is that every time a player extends an arm, the other falls to the ground screaming: it’s just too much. If a player goes down, they should stay out for five minutes because if they’ve taken a hit to the face, we need to be sure they’re okay. “You will see that with this rule no one will throw themselves to the ground anymore. We no longer recognize ourselves in this football. The referees should take a step back because they are not the stars of this show.” “Yesterday, I wanted to hug Beppe Bergomi after his commentary on the incredible penalty call against Atalanta.”