Referees

No One Understands The Current Handball Rule — At Least We Can Agree On That Much

Players and coaches around Europe are becoming increasingly perplexed by the current handball rule which one has said is best suited to foosball. 

Forwards have seen goals chalked off for almost imperceptible handballs while defenders have conceded penalties for unintentional ones in innocuous situations because their arm was seen as making the body "unnaturally bigger."

Pierluigi Collina Outlines Mission For Uniform Global Use Of VAR

FIFA wants VAR video reviews to be applied in the same way across all competitions, as they take over direct responsibility for the system.

Issues concerning VAR have been handled primarily by IFAB, the game's law-making body, during the system's two-year experimental phase and its introduction as part of the laws of the game. Soccer's global governing body FIFA, however, took over the role of supporting competition organizers with the implementation of VAR from July 1.

Vardy Leaves Mustafi’s Face Bloodied After Kick To Face; Was It On Purpose Is The Real Question

Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi woke up Wednesday morning with two holes in his face after receiving a Jamie Vardy boot to the side of his head during Tuesday’s match. The match between Arsenal and Leicester City ended 1-1 after Vardy scored the Foxes’ equalizer in the final moments of the match. Some argue the Leicester striker shouldn’t have been on the field after the incident with Mustafi before halftime.

Here is the controversial moment between Vardy and Mustafi in the 45th minute:

Kateryna Monzul Makes History As First Woman To Ref Ukrainian Cup Final

Kateryna Monzul will become the first female to take charge of the Ukrainian Cup final when Dynamo Kiev face Vorskla Poltava on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Football Association said on Monday.

Monzul, 39, was the first woman to referee a Ukrainian Premier League match when she took charge of Chornomorets Odesa against Volyn Lutsk in 2016.

She refereed the opening match of the 2015 Women's World Cup and the final between the United States and Japan as well as matches at the 2019 tournament including the quarterfinal.

Five Clubs Disqualified, 45 People Handed Lifetime Bans In Blatant Match-Fixing Case

The Armenian Football Federation (FFA) suspended the country's second tier with immediate effect and disqualified five teams after receiving "undeniable evidence" of their involvement in match-fixing.

About 45 people, including club owners, players and coaches, have been handed with life bans and another 13 were banned for different periods for being involved in manipulation of matches, the FFA said.

Local media reported that club owners with Russian passports, Russian players and coaches, as well as Ukrainian, Latvian and Belarusian footballers were among those banned.

Harry Kane’s Disallowed Goal Will Make Your Blood Boil

Let me just get this out of the way first: I love the VAR. I think video replay is a necessary addition to soccer and greatly improves the accuracy of match-changing calls. But that Harry Kane disallowed goal on Thursday was BS, even if the VAR technically got it right.

The moment in question came in the 33rd minute of Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United. The Blades had gone ahead less than two minutes earlier through Sander Berge, but Spurs thought they had found a quickfire response.

Quique Setién Risks Wrath Of Zidane By Adding To Claims Of Referee Bias

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system is not being used correctly in LaLiga, Barcelona manager Quique Setién said on Monday following Real Madrid's controversial win at Real Sociedad.

Madrid beat Sociedad 2-1 to climb above Barcelona at the top of LaLiga but the home side were aggrieved because they had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside and Karim Benzema's winner stood after he appeared to control the ball with his arm.

Zinedine Zidane Annoyed By Referee Conspiracy Theories As Real Madrid Goes Top

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was disappointed that he was only asked about the referee's decisions after his side earned a 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday to climb above Barcelona and top LaLiga.

The day before the game, Zidane had been forced to defend his team against a suggestion from Barça defender Gerard Piqué that decisions were going Madrid's way after their 3-0 win over Valencia, in which Rodrigo had an opening goal ruled out.

Premier League Expands Substitutions And Benches — Here's Why That's Great News

The Premier League has taken the wise decision to follow the Bundesliga by allowing five substitutions per game and expanding the number of players on the bench from seven to nine. The league confirmed this temporary change on Thursday. Here's why this is a great thing.

Italian Refs Hope Players Will Show More Respect When Serie A Returns, lol

ROME — The head of the Italian Referees Association (AIA) hopes match officials will be treated with greater respect if and when Serie A returns following the coronavirus stoppage.

"I hope this virus will teach us to change our attitudes and have a bit more respect," AIA head Marcello Nicchi told Radio Sportiva in an interview.

"Was the coronavirus needed to say that players should keep their distance from the referee when they protest? It's an ethical issue that I hope everyone will assimilate."

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