Respecting referees... a duty not an option

Saturday night's Francesco Totti-Pavel Nedved incident, which caused a furore at the Olympic Stadium, has not helped those who are against the use of video evidence.

Under present rules, the Italian FA can only consult TV replays if the referee was unsighted and did not get a clear view of an incident.

It seems that in the Totti-Nedved case, the referee was unaware of the infringement and did not notice what followed afterwards as the Roma captain hit Nedved on his head. Only this week will we know whether the Italian soccer authorities will turn a blind eye or take action against Totti.

The Roma captain is no novice to such senseless retaliations. Remember in Euro 2004... he was suspended as video evidence caught him spitting at an opponent.

Beyond doubt, one supposes that the easiest way out would be to say that the referee did not see anything wrong, so let's forget about the whole thing. But, the power of the referee is not to be dismissed lightly. Far from that.

Some contend that certain decisions can decide a match. Generally-speaking, the strongest clubs do sometimes benefit in 50-50 situations but it is only coaches and players themselves who win or lose games. However, one must say that matches sometimes do turn on refereeing controversies.

Had Totti been sent off on Saturday, as so easily could have happened, it would have had a huge bearing on Roma's chances in their upcoming matches against Fioren-tina and Lecce.

I am not only condemning Totti's behaviour here but would also like to see the governing bodies intervene strongly. The authorities have to make sure that the game is not held in disrepute and that the players cannot do things which are totally wrong without paying a price. They should never be fazed with the fame and profile of the player involved.

As regard Totti, we hear lots of speculation. He is under pressure all the time, on and off the field. The fortunes of Roma and Italy depend mostly on his performances. But, I guess, the frustrations and the pressure he has to live with cannot be used as an excuse for reactions of similar proportions.

Refereeing decisions will never be 100% accurate because match officials are only human after all. That's why I am in favour of TV replays to rule on controversial incidents.

These days, a flawed decision may cost a club millions of euros in lost revenue. Also, the game as it is played today has become too fast for one referee to be in control.

We lately heard of refs facing court charges for serious crimes but we should admire and not ridicule the honest and hard-working way in which most of them tackle an extremely tough and delicate job.

We, as followers, and players, in particular, should all be seeking ways and means how to help referees carry out their duties well rather than looking to criticise them.

Referees take decisions in a fraction of a second and, unfortunately for them, they may get a few wrong. However, we hardly ever read about how many they get right.

Serie A statistics

1st win for Inter after a barren run of three matches (one defeat and two draws). On Sunday, they struck twice in the second half to hand Parma their sixth defeat in as many away outings this season. This was Inter's ninth win in 16 Serie A home meetings with the former UEFA Cup holders. Parma's only win at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium dates back to May 8, 1999 (3-1). In a Tuscany derby, Livorno scored a goal in each half to beat in-form Empoli 2-0. For Livorno this was their first home win over Empoli since May 7, 1978 (1-0 in Serie C). Chievo threw away the opportunity to move further up in the standings as they could only share the spoils with minnows Ascoli at home. This was the second drawn result - the first since October 1994 (1-1) - in as many meetings between Chievo and Ascoli.

4th change in coach did not help lowly Cagliari to record their first win of the season as they went down 3-1 to Reggina at the Oreste Granillo stadium. During the recess, veteran coach Nedo Sonetti took over at Cagliari but on Sunday the team did not show any signs of improvement as the players looked disjointed and indifferent as in previous games. Sunday's setback confirmed Cagliari's poor record in Reggio Calabria, where they have never won in seven visits. Serse Cosmi's Udinese bounced back from their opaque performance in a 1-5 drubbing to Milan a fortnight ago as they left it late to beat Messina 1-0 at home. After five straight defeats, Lecce showed signs of recovery as they annihilated fellow strugglers Siena 3-0 at their Via del Mare stadium. Lecce seemed a much improved side. The players showed character and the strikers were deadly in front of goal. Siena had no chance to enhance their impeccable away record. Lecce had not scored in any of their previous five outings. For the interest of statistics, it was Lecce's first home win against Siena in over a decade.

5th straight win for buoyant Fiorentina as the Viola inflicted a first defeat on Milan after eight consecutive wins. Cesare Prandelli's team started like a house on fire as they went ahead after only 10 minutes through Luca Toni. Milan did not take too much time to get back in business as they equalised 15 minutes later. After the change of ends, Martin Jorgensen put Fiorentina back in the lead. At this stage, the hosts were in a position to play a containing game and attack through fast counter-breaks. Eventually, Toni grabbed his second of the day to wrap up a deserved victory, Fiorentina's first at home over Milan since January 2001 (4-0). For the second season running, Juventus conquered Roma's Olympic Stadium to consolidate their lead at the top of the standings. Roma dominated for long stretches in the first half but failed to take the opportunities that came their way. On the stroke of half-time, Juve went ahead through Pavel Nedved. After the break, Fabio Capello's side continued to build on their lead by scoring three more goals inside five minutes. Juve's second successive league win coincided with Roma's first defeat after a draw and three straight wins.

8 years had to pass for Sampdoria to return to winning ways against Lazio at their Luigi Ferraris stadium as the Blucerchiati extended their positive streak to three games. The home side conducted operations for long periods but they could not break down Lazio's tight defence. Eventually, it had to be substitutes Francesco Flachi and Aimo Diana that spearheaded Sampdoria to a much-needed victory which kept them in the hunt for a Champions League slot. Lazio are now winless in away matches since beating Bologna (2-1) on April 17. A draw between Sampdoria and Lazio has been missing since April 20, 1996 (3-3 in Serie A). Alberto Cavasin became the first coach at Treviso to guide the team to a first positive home result in the top flight. On Sunday, Treviso took an early double lead against Palermo. However, once the visitors settled down, it was always going to be difficult for Treviso to retain their lead as Palermo scored a goal in each half to collect their second draw in three visits to Treviso. Treviso's only home win over the southerners came in 1954 (2-1).

29 goals were scored on the 12th day for a total of 318 so far. Fiorentina's Luca Toni grabbed his umpteenth double of the season to consolidate his lead in the scorers' list. This season he netted 15 goals (one from penalty). Apart from Toni, the other two who struck a double in the weekend fixtures were Trezeguet (Juve) and Reginaldo (Treviso). No hat-tricks were registered. Esteban Cambiasso (Inter), Giuseppe Cozzolino (Lecce), Francesco Flachi and Aimo Diana (both Sampdoria) came on as substitutes and found the net. Two penalties were awarded by referees, from which Francesco Cozza (Reggina) and Francesco Totti (Roma) made no mistake. Meanwhile, three players - Lilian Thuram (Juventus), Massimo Gobbi (Cagliari) and Davide Biondini (Reggina) - received marching orders.