[VIDEO PICK] Referee Peter Walton had to improvise quickly when he set up to caution Birmingham’s Jordon Mutch and discoveredhe hadn’t packed his cards. During the 1-1 tie between Birmingham and Everton, Walton’s use of an invisible card worked quite well in the 40th minute. Walton, who apparently described toMutch the color of his pretend […]
referees
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
GLT and the Gnat Eyebrow Factor
By Paul Gardner The farcical anachronism that goes under the name of the International Football Association Board — IFAB — is having its annual meeting tomorrow.Somewhere in Wales. This is soccer’s rule-making group, and one of the items on its agenda — for “discussion and decision” — is Goal Line Technology (GLT). So here wehave […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Lucky Arsenal! Messi's disallowed goal was legit
By Paul Gardner It is generally agreed that the sight of players complaining about the referee’s decisions is not one we want to see on the soccer field. Even worse, isthe spectacle of a crowd of players hounding the referee, chasing him and yelling furiously at him. It shouldn’t happen — not least because there’s […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Youth refs should emulate Willy Wonka, not Pierluigi Collina
By Randy Vogt Officiating professional soccer is definitely not for the faint of heart. This is not surprising as people’s livelihoods are based on the results. Officiating youth soccer is sometimes not for the faint-hearted either. The majority of youth soccer referees quit within their first two years with verbal abuse by kids’ parentsbeing the […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
How Refs Add Time During Games
By Randy Vogt A soccer game consists of two equal halves. A professional match has 45-minute halves while other games could have fewer minutes in the half, depending onthe competition or age group. The halves are running time. The time begins when the ball is legally put in play on the kickoff by being kicked […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Liverpool loss reminds that rulebook rewrite is long overdue
By Paul Gardner Poor Liverpool — everything seems to be going wrong for them. Their loyal fans (frequently referred to as the most loyal fans in England or, if youprefer, in the world) have not had an easy time of it this season. Having got rid of their American owners –whom they seemed to dislike […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Saudi fans show displeasure with their shoes
[VIDEO PICK] Fans of Saudi club Al Nasr showed their displeasure with the officiating in its 2-2 tie with Al Taawun by taking off their shoes and hurling themat the refereeing crew as it raced for the tunnel. Afterwards, the Saudi TV filmed a cleanup crew with a garbage bag filled with shoes.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Referees' Strike: The exploding bubble
[REF WATCH] The Scottish soccer referees strike in November exploded like a bubble in a simmering sea of discontent among officials that has rumbled for over acentury. They had the courage to say “No, we’ve had enough. We are not offering our services until effective measures are in place to counter the constant abuse we […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
U.S. ref director recalls toughest game
Clemente Lisi interviewed Paul Tamberino, US Soccer’s Director of RefereeDevelopment. Tamberino reffed 78 MLS regular season games and was part of the officiating crew in the MLS’s first six championship games. His toughest game was as a linesman indo-or-die Honduras-Jamaica World Cup qualifier: “All along the fence were military with their automatic rifles and guard […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
A season ends; reflections begin
By Mike Woitalla Today is soccer practice day, but it isn’t because the season ended last weekend. So I’m not checking which balls need to bepumped up, if the first-aid kit is in order, or if the pinnies and goalkeeper gloves are back in the coach’s bag. (Which reminds me, are you ever supposed to […]