FLASH NEWS
Arbitrators at the center of the scandal: The denunciation of Ferrieri Caputi's vote and the Prosecutor's Office's investigations
2026-05-27 13:08:05 / SPORT
A new arbitration scandal threatens to shake the Italian Association of Arbitrators (AIA) and its new director, Dino Tommasi. Guido Alfonsi, president of the AIA Section in L'Aquila, has sent a complaint to the Federal Prosecutor's Office and public prosecutor Maurizio Ascione, who is leading the investigation at the Milan Prosecutor's Office where former director Gianluca Rocchi is among the suspects. Alfonsi highlights the anomaly in the removal of referee Federico Dionisi, precisely from the L'Aquila section, from the roles of CAN AB. A first consequence has already occurred: the FIGC Prosecutor's Office has opened a file to verify the statements. This happens while the FIGC, due to the negative opinion of the advisory section of the Sports Guarantee College at CONI, gave up on the idea of commissioning.
The focus is on the final day of the 2025-26 championship, played a few days ago. Alfonsi reconstructs a change in the appointment of the referee observer, a figure who assigns the scores for the performance of the referees to the AIA. These scores then determine a performance ranking, with confirmations or departures of the referees at the end of the season. Alfonsi emphasizes that for the Lazio-Pisa match, the observer Andrea Antonelli was initially assigned, who was then sent to Napoli-Udinese, while Sandro Rossomando was sent to the Olimpico, initially destined for Maradona. This change, according to him, is suspicious. Rossomando rated Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi, the referee of Lazio-Pisa, with 8.40, an insufficient score that would have removed Ferrieri Caputi from the top 25 positions of the seasonal ranking. This drop in ranking, according to the complaint, led to the departure of Dionis. The confirmation of referee Antonio Rapuano as a member of the staff is also under scrutiny, precisely due to the loss of positions by Ferrieri Caputi.
Alfonsi uses strong words in his complaint: "The ways of Dionisio's departure, to say nothing of anything else, leave one astonished by the way they seem clearly planned. The 8.40 rating (for Ferrieri Caputi) is the only one that would undoubtedly have determined the departure of Federico Dionisio, an indirect victim of this inescapable plan. All those involved have witnessed what I can call, without any possibility of denial, 'the consummation of an irrefutable injustice'". He adds: "It is undeniable that the 8.40 rating given to referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi certainly seems induced from above, given her direction of the match, without mistakes".
But why does the vote for Ferrieri Caputi affect the fate of Dionis and Rapuano? Because every year, at the end of the season, the AIA must remove five referees. This season, three are referees with over 10 years of seniority outside the top 25 of performance (entering the top 25 is the condition that allows the continuation of refereeing, if you have over 10 years of seniority): Abisso, Piccinini and Pezzuto. The other two removed are the last in the ranking: 42nd (Massimi) and 41st (Dionisi). Rapuano, who has over 10 years of seniority, escapes with his 25th place in the ranking and continues to referee. If Ferrieri Caputi had received a higher mark on the last day, it would have been twenty-fifth and would have pushed Rapuano out of the top 25. Those removed for seniority would therefore be four and, with Massimi as the fifth removed, Dionis would have been saved.
Federal prosecutor Chinè has already decided to question all those interested and obtain the relevant documentation, to understand if there are elements to proceed with a referral, which could include Dino Tommaso, the interim director who replaced Rocchi. The duration of the investigation? Sixty days, with a possible extension of 40 days. A hot summer is expected in the world of Italian arbitration.
Taken from La Gazzetta dello Sport
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