The referees for this week’s Europa League matches are finally out, and there are lots of new faces! Couple of interesting notes: England’s Martin Atkinson will referee Dynamo Kyiv v. Valencia, making him the only English referee to have a European match so far. Howard Webb and Mark Clattenburg have to still be in the running for Champions League matches
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Well, well. It seems that the four upcoming Champions League matches this week (February 18 and 19) are a showcase for the Gods of Refereeing. You can’t get much better than this week’s choices. On Tuesday, there’s Jonas Eriksson of Sweden and Viktor Kassai of Hungary, both consistently excellent referees. On Wednesday, you have: Yes, that’s right, Mr. Smooth is
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I always know I’m in for a treat when I come home from the movies, check my blog’s stats and find the search term: “Is Howard Webb a cheat?” This is obviously about the Arsenal v. Liverpool match in the FA Cup Fifth Round. Webb was the referee, and he had plenty to deal with, including Raheem Sterling pushing him
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Here are the referees for the first two matches of the Last 16 round of Champions League. These matches will be played Tuesday, February 18. So Jonas Eriksson (above) takes Manchester City v. Barcelona. Eriksson is actually one of my favorites. The Big Swede is always very calm and in command at the same time…the kind of guy you want on your side
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It feels like forever, but it’s finally time for Champions League football again! This seems like a good time to talk about how the referees are chosen by UEFA not only for Champions League, but for Europa League, as well. First of all, just like the clubs want to get into the Champions League, the top referees really want these appointments.
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Here are the referees for the upcoming fifth round of the FA Cup, held Saturday through Monday, February 15-17. Several big matches, including Manchester City and Chelsea, where Phil Dowd will once again have the joy of dealing with Manuel Pelligrini and Jose Mourinho in the same stadium. (He should get some form of hazard pay.) Sunday will see current
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Big note is that Nicola Rizzoli is nowhere amongst the appointments, meaning he is almost certainly refereeing one of this week’s upcoming Last 16 Champions League matches, held Tuesday and Wednesday, February 18 and 19. His two assistant referees, Stefani and Faverani, are listed this weekend, but only as fourth officials. The referees for the Champions League matches are not announced until two
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I wasn’t going to post this, because it’s old. But I’m sick to bloody death of talking about Andy Bloody Carroll, and I figured we could all use a bit of a laugh. So I give to you this cute video of Mark Clattenburg forgetting his cards, and then forgetting who he was going to card in the first place.
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The match of the week is obviously the Lazio v. Roma derby. The third best referee in Italy will be in the middle: Daniele Orsato (above). Personally, I like Orsato. Good man manager, solid positioning, all around nice guy. (I actually don’t know that; he could be completely insufferable, for all I know.) I mean, he’s no Nicola Rizzoli, but then,
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The super-secret Tribunal (which is what I guess they decided to call themselves), convened to hear West Ham’s argument that Andy Carroll should not be suspended, has agreed with the FA. Carroll’s suspension begins immediately. News is dripping out about this arbitration Tribunal, but apparently both West Ham and the referees (whether represented by FA, PGMOL or Prospect, I haven’t been
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