Referees

Argentina — With Help From VAR — Makes Insane Comeback To Knock Scotland Out Of Women’s World Cup

What just happened?

That’s what we’re trying to process after Argentina’s insane comeback against Scotland on Wednesday in the final Group D match.

Scotland went ahead by three goals in the 69th minute and looked to be cruising to a third-place finish in Group D and a likely spot in the knockout rounds. Then Argentina scored three goals in the final 20 minutes, including a retaken penalty kick in the 94th minute to earn a 3-3 draw.

Penalties, Once The Most Widely Understood Part Of Soccer, Now Make No Sense

By holding World Cup host France to a draw today, Nigeria could’ve secured passage to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1999. For close to 80 minutes, that looked like the Super Falcons destiny. 

Step forward the VAR.

First, the referee looked at the monitor to review a collision in Nigeria’s box between Ngozi Ebere and Viviane Asseyi. The ref decided it was a penalty and sent Ebere off for her second bookable offense. 

Up stepped Wendie Renard for the spot kick. Her initial attempt clipped the outside of the post and went directly behind for a goal kick. 

Watch Abby Wambach's Wife Glennon Doyle Hilariously Explain Offside

One of the most confusing soccer rules is offside. All of us soccer fans know the difficulty of trying to explain how offside works to first-time watchers. Though it is an important part of the game, it is also one of the most difficult to understand, especially when the goalkeeper comes into play like in the 2010 World Cup opener.

Controversial Goal Gives Nigeria A Helping Hand In Win Over South Korea

Nigeria put on an excellent performance Wednesday against South Korea, securing a 2-0 victory and a vital three points in Group A. However, instead of talking about Nigeria’s win, everybody seems to be talking about Nigeria’s first goal, a South Korea own goal, which was marred by controversy.

The goal came when a ball was played into South Korea’s box and was mishit by South Korean defender Kim Do-yeon, deflecting off her foot and into the goal.

Unlike That Of Social Media, France’s Response To Narrow VAR Decision Was The Best Response

Yes, the Women’s World Cup is using VAR. Yes, people are going to complain. And yes, the VAR got the call right in its first usage during the tournament opener between France and South Korea on Friday. 

France was the first victim of VAR at Women’s World Cup after a goal was disallowed for the narrowest of offside calls in the first half of the first match of the tournament. 

Portugal PK Wiped Out To Award Switzerland PK, So Ronaldo Responds With Hat Trick

The UEFA Nations League semifinals kicked off Tuesday. The new competition began with group play in the fall and concludes this week with the top league’s group winners playing a mini-tournament in Portugal. 

Portugal took a lead in the first semifinal against Switzerland through a powerful Cristiano Ronaldo free kick. The Swiss then equalized in the most unusual of circumstances.

Ref Lights Up Cigarette, Drinks Beer At Halftime Of Croatian Playoff

Being a referee is a thankless, difficult job. No matter how well referees officiate a match, they will almost always be scorned by players and fans of both sides. But being a Croatian referee? That’s not so bad, apparently.

During a recent lower-league playoff semifinal match between Petrovije and Momjan 1947, a referee was seen lighting up cigarettes and drinking beer at halftime.

If there’s a better way to deal with divas who complain about every little call, I’d like to see it.

One For The Refs: Y’All Are Getting New Jerseys!

When Tottenham and Liverpool take to the pitch on June 1 for the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final, Spurs (the designated home team) will do so wearing their historic “Lilywhites” while Liverpool will be outfitted in iconic red. However, more eagle-eyed observers will notice one distinctly different kit on the pitch: that of the referees. 

Slovenian ref Damir Skomina and his assistants, Jure Praprotnik and Robert Vukan, will wear the new threads after UEFA agreed to a deal with Italian sportswear company Macron to provide referee uniforms for all UEFA competitions until 2022.  

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