Allegri weighs in on diving debate and asks for offside rule change

Massimiliano Allegri has had his say on the diving debate that has cropped up in Serie A since the weekend and has also pointed out an offside rule that he feels needs to be changed: ‘It’s subjectivity, at the discretion of the referee’. 

Allegri sat down for his pre-match press conference on Monday afternoon, ahead of the rearranged Serie A match between Milan and Como which will be played on Tuesday night. The game was originally scheduled to take place last weekend, but was postponed due to a clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in San Siro. 

During his chat with the media, Allegri was asked for his thoughts after the controversial Derby d’Italia between his former side Inter and his former side Juventus, which was overshadowed by the wrongful decision to send off Pierre Kalulu for a second bookable offence in the 42nd minute. 

Replays showed that Alessandro Bastoni had dived in an attempt to get his opponent sent off. Refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi has since admitted that a mistake was made and has apologised on behalf of referee Federico La Penna. 

Allegri comments on Inter 3-2 Juventus, diving and offside rules

Allegri was unwilling to go into too many details about the Derby d’Italia between Inter and Juventus, but had plenty to say on the topic of diving, the state of refereeing and the protocols that are currently in place. 

“Lots of people have already spoken [about the Derby], so it’s useless for us to continue doing so. We have to keep the energy on ourselves, not waste it on what happens to others,” he said (via TMW)

“The most important thing is that there are competent people who work to improve the objectivity of VAR, because those situations are not debatable.”

And when asked how he would combat diving in top-level football, Allegri said: “Football has become very quick, it’s not easy for the referees. The speed of the ball, the game, the physicality of the players is different to how it was 30-40 years ago. 

“We need to improve VAR and find solutions, as I’m sure they will be doing. It’s not as if that happens overnight. Let’s try and achieve objectivity.” 

Allegri also called for a change in rules regarding potential offsides that result in corner kicks. 

“In my opinion, one thing that absolutely needs to change is when there is an offside and the action results in a corner. The corner shouldn’t be given at all.” 

And when pushed again on the topic of diving, he added: “It’s subjectivity, at the discretion of the referee. There’s nothing we can do about that. I struggle to select the team, let alone say what the VAR should be doing. The game of football is not easy to explain, we can’t indoctrinate everyone.

“What happened on Saturday is disappointing to everyone, but I think the most disappointed are the protagonists of the event.”