Daily Archives: April 27, 2026

‘Is it the new Calciopoli?’ – Explaining the refereeing scandal that has rocked Italian football

“Gianluca Rocchi is a member of Italian football’s Hall of Fame. His biography explains why. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) describes him as ‘one of the most prominent referees in our game in recent years’. The 52-year-old Florentine was the fourth official at the 2013 Champions League final. He took charge of the 2017 European Super Cup and oversaw the 2019 Europa League final. When he hung up his whistle and retired the following year only Concetto Lo Bello, the Pierluigi Collina before Pierluigi Collina, counted more top-flight games in Serie A than him. … On Thursday, Rocchi must submit himself for questioning by prosecutors in Milan. He is accused, in his role as the referee designator of CAN (the National Referees’ Committee for Serie A and B), of committing fraud in sport. The story, first broken by the Agenzia Italia newswire, sent shockwaves through Italian football. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
W – Calciopoli
YouTube: Why did Italian football fall?

Champions League combined semi-finals XIs: Does anyone displace Gabriel and Saliba? How many PSG players?

“The Champions League is approaching its conclusion. Only four teams are left, with holders Paris Saint-Germain hosting a seemingly all-conquering Bayern Munich and Arsenal travelling to Atletico Madrid in this week’s first legs of the semi-finals. The winners of those ties will meet in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30. There will be plenty of stars in action in those games on Tuesday and Wednesday — from the Ballon d’Or-winning Ousmane Dembele to the insatiable Harry Kane, via the nonchalance of Michael Olise and the defensive might of Arsenal’s Gabriel and centre-back partner William Saliba. But what is the best possible combined XI of the players still in with a chance of winning this season’s competition? We asked five of our writers. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)