This is some of the worst news I could have heard, both as a fan of the referees and a lover of the game: Neymar, one of the true talents and bright spots of this World Cup, is out with fractured vertebrae. Read that again: fractured vertebrae. Make no mistake about it, Juan Zuniga – the player who went over his
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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 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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FA have granted Andy Carroll and West Ham an ‘arbitration hearing‘ before their fixture with Aston Villa. This will presumably happen today, since it’s the last business day before the weekend’s matches. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock: Carroll was red carded by Howard Webb last weekend for hitting Chico Flores in the head with his arm. Flores overacted,
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Read Part One To understand why West Ham’s recent challenge failed, and Tottenham’s didn’t, we first need to understand two fundamental facts about the Wrongful Dismissal process: the Independent Regulatory Commission’s role and “obvious error.” Role of the Regulatory Commission In the FA’s official communication about Wrongful Dismissals, the Regulatory Commission’s role is defined as such: So, when clubs or
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In the space of about a week and a half, we’ve had two big red card appeals in the Premier League. In both cases, the clubs exercised their right to challenge a sending off before an ‘Independent Regulatory Commission’, in hopes of getting the automatic suspension of 1-3 games rescinded. Tottenham appealed Danny Rose’s one-game suspension for taking down Manchester
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Nicola Rizzoli has been named Italy’s top referee for the 858th year in a row. Okay, I exaggerate. It’s just 857. In all seriousness, this is at least the third year in a row that Rizzoli has walked onto the stage at Italy’s Gran Gala and accepted the trophy. And I think he’s worn the same suit every year. (For
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West Ham have failed in their bid to overturn the red card Andy Carroll received against Swansea this past weekend. And may I just take this moment to say… Called it. You can read my reasoning here, but basically, Webb had a clear, unobstructed view and he had already decided Carroll swung his arm with intent to strike before Flores took
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 