Italian Prosecutors Drop Case Against Referees Chief Gianluca Rocchi
Milan prosecutors have requested the dismissal of a sports fraud case against Gianluca Rocchi, the official in charge of assigning referees in Italy's top leagues, concluding after a two-year inquiry that there was no evidence of match-fixing.
Prosecutors in Milan have asked a court to drop the case against Gianluca Rocchi, the man responsible for appointing referees in Serie A and Serie B. The former international referee suspended himself in April when an investigation was launched into alleged complicity in sporting fraud during the 2024-25 season.
Rocchi has consistently maintained his innocence. According to Italian news agency Ansa, prosecutors concluded after a two-year inquiry that no structured system aimed at manipulating referee appointments existed, and there was no evidence of match-fixing.
The allegations included claims that Rocchi selected a referee for an Inter Milan match because he was "liked by Inter". A VAR decision not to intervene when an Inter player elbowed an opponent in another game was also scrutinised. The parallel case against Inter has been dropped as well.
Rocchi was further accused of pressuring a VAR official to encourage the referee to use the pitchside monitor for a handball incident during Udinese's 1-0 win over Parma in March last year. The referee and VAR official had initially decided against a penalty but changed their minds, leading to Florian Thauvin scoring the only goal.
Prosecutors have now forwarded the case documents to sports justice authorities and the Italian Olympic Committee's General Prosecutor's Office to assess any potential disciplinary breaches within a sporting context. Sporting fraud is a criminal offence in Italy, carrying a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
