When it comes to football advertisements, few have come close to matching Nike’s “Take It To The Next Level” commercials from 2008. The first-hand perspective ads put you directly in the shoes of an up-and-coming footballer, brushing shoulders with the likes of Arsene Wenger, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
If you’ve ever refereed at any level of the game, you’ll know that the job’s garments ain’t no thang. The referee’s jersey is comfortably oversized, lightweight and sensible, what with its dual pockets and smart collar. Hell, you’ve probably slightly copped out and pretended to be the legendary Pierluigi Collina for Halloween. It’s fun to record peoples’ indiscretions into a little book and theatrically show them a card, all while lounging comfortably.
But outside of Halloween and off the pitch, it’s never been entirely socially acceptable to dress like a ref.
La edad media de los jugadores de la Premier League inglesa es de 26,8 años, lo que significa que la gran mayoría de los futbolistas no jugaban hace 25 años, cuando se instituyó el cambio más drástico en el juego en los últimos tiempos. Muchos ni siquiera estaban vivos en 1992 cuando la FIFA decidió evitar que los porteros recibieran pases intencionadamente pateados por sus compañeros.
The L.A. Galaxy are in a major rut and everyone is piling on, from opponents to technology. In a 3-1 loss to the Portland Timbers on Sunday, the Galaxy were one of the first MLS clubs to have a goal disallowed by video review. Then the Timbers slammed home two of the best goals of the weekend to rub it in and spoil the debut of Jonathan Dos Santos.
L.A. thought it had scored in the 12th minute when Gyasi Zardes poked home from short range. But the officials checked the tape and discovered Zardes had handled the ball prior to the goal.
The Champions League and Europa League have used end-line assistants for a few years now. The Confederations Cup used VAR this summer, and Major League Soccer will start using video review on Saturday. The English Premier League has popularized goal-line technology and this year will have a panel to suspend those who dive or feign injury.
It’s taken a while, but soccer is finally getting its shit together when it comes to officiating the game.
There's perhaps no other refereeing decision, in any sport, that causes the deep emotional reaction of the awarding of a penalty kick. When the call is made for a spot kick from 12 yards out, the response is typically either a flurry of expletives and impending sense of doom or the feeling of utter joy derived from receiving a blessing, depending on which side of the call you are.
And it seems these feelings are warranted — stats show that there’s a 75-80% chance of the penalty being converted.
Saturday’s El Clasico at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami gave over 66,000 spectators the opportunity to watch the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Gareth Bale, but the lasting legacy of this match will probably be the confrontation between Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic and American referee Jair Marrufo.
Rakitic’s goal in the 7th minute gave Barca an early 2-0 lead, but his 73 minutes on the pitch weren’t entirely enjoyable.
Major League Soccer will begin using VAR (video assistant referee) on the arbitrary date of August 5 in the middle of the season. Little good that does FC Dallas.
In the 21st minute of Dallas’ match with Montreal on Saturday, Cristian Colman hit a shot well over the goal line before it was headed out by Impact defender Daniel Lovitz. Replays show the ball clearly went over the line but referee Robert Sibiga waved play on.