Referees

LONDON — Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee to officiate a Premier League match when she takes charge of Fulham's home game against Burnley on Dec. 23.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) confirmed the appointment on Thursday and also said Sam Allison would become the first Black official to take charge of a Premier match for 15 years.

Allison will be the referee for Sheffield United v Luton Town on Dec. 26.

Premier League female referee

We apologize for the extra clickbaity headline, but we’re serious when we say few people can explain the disallowed Rennes goal vs. Villarreal from Thursday’s Europa League action.

For complete transparency, the author writing this story wasn’t part of the 5% of people who could correctly explain why this goal wasn’t counted upon first viewing. Not even CBS’ commentators understood the Rennes’ stoppage time equalizer mystery.

Before we give you the answer, watch the clip for yourself.

Rennes disallowed goal vs. Villarreal

ANKARA — The president of top tier Turkish soccer club Ankaragucu, Faruk Koca, was arrested on Tuesday for punching a referee in the face at the end of a match, with the official telling police that Koca had threatened to kill him.

The arrest followed an outbreak of violence during Super Lig club Ankaragucu's home match against Rizespor on Monday evening.

Referee Halil Umut Meler, who was also kicked while lying on the pitch, said that Koca had also threatened him and his colleagues, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.

Kylian Mbappé struck a controversial penalty deep in stoppage time to earn Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw against a valiant Newcastle United and keep their Champions League destiny in their own hands on Tuesday.

The visitors had led the Group F clash since midway through the opening half thanks to Alexander Isak's tap-in and they weathered a furious late assault from the hosts only to be denied by a cruel and highly-contentious decision.

LONDON — Measures to improve player behavior and increase respect for match officials were supported at the law-making International Football Association Board (IFAB) annual meeting on Tuesday.

A proposed trial whereby only the team captain may approach the referee in certain game situations was backed and it was also agreed that temporary dismissals for dissent and specific tactical offences should be trialled at higher levels.

Sin bins (similar to hockey's penalty box) have already had a successful implementation in grassroots football.

Barcelona drew Rayo Vallecano 1-1 on Saturday and a moment from the game many fans are talking about was seeing Robert Lewandowski thrown to the ground.

The game was a feisty one that saw several hard tackles and a total of seven yellow cards given out between the two teams. There arguably should’ve been an eighth yellow or possibly a red card for Rayo Vallecano’s Florian Lejeune.

During the game Lejeune and Lewandowski clearly weren’t getting along. When the ball was away from the two players, Lejeune threw the Polish striker to the ground. 

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said her side were robbed of a win against Real Madrid in their Champions League opener after the Women's Super League (WSL) champions had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday following two controversial decisions.

Niamh Charles put Chelsea level after Olga Carmona's 10th-minute goal for the hosts, with Sam Kerr doubling Chelsea's lead in the second half, only for Madrid to be awarded a controversial penalty, which was converted by Carmona.

Chelsea's fury was heightened after an added-time winner from Charles was ruled out for offside.

COPENHAGEN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Manchester United gave up a two-goal lead in a breathless 4-3 Champions League loss to FC Copenhagen on Wednesday that turned after Marcus Rashford was shown a red card following a brace by young United striker Rasmus Hojlund.

The loss was a calamitous setback in United's hopes for last-16 qualification with Erik ten Hag's side fourth in Group A on three points with two group games still to play.