Referees

Who Invented Penalties And Were They Sick In The Head?

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.

Ivan Rakitic Claims American Referee Insulted Him Three Times During El Clasico

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.

FC Dallas’ Shocking Disallowed Goal Shows MLS Shouldn’t Wait Any Longer For VAR

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.

Real Salt Lake Coach Mike Petke Goes Ballistic On Refs, Printer

The printer is a mysterious creature with a mind of its own. Often magnanimous in its ability to create documents and dole out copies, a printer can quickly turn against its owner and decide to pretend there’s a paper jam when there is no jam because damnit I looked all through the thing and there’s no jam and there’s not even any paper anywhere nearby and just work please oh please just work.

5 Fun Rules From 1863 FIFA Needs To Consider Bringing Back

Soccer was a different game when, in 1863, the Football Association finalized the original rules of football. Many laws of the game have been added, morphed or have disappeared completely. 

But a few of the original rules of football could make for some interesting soccer if they were to be brought back.

The Grueling Process Behind Becoming A World Cup Referee

They don’t get the credit the footballers do for their performance each game, but referees have to be just as prepared physically and mentally as those players they’re chasing all around the field.

It’s a varied and strenuous training process. The best refs have to be fitter than a world-class midfielder, have to possess an acute awareness for the type of teams, players and tactics they’ll be observing, and they need to be ready to handle all that might be thrown at them psychologically when it comes to high stakes and other maddening elements.

MLS Official Duped By Hilarious Dive After Contact With Hand Cast

Nobody likes a big decision more than MLS official Baldomero Toledo. Toledo once set the precedent for what would happen if a player ever took off their jersey only to reveal another jersey underneath — he brandished a second yellow and sent the player off. 

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