Sweeper-keepers such as Manchester City’s Ederson, his Brazilian compatriot Alisson Becker at Liverpool and Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer are all the rage in modern soccer. But until FIFA changed the back pass rule 30 years ago, goalkeepers were rarely expected to use their feet to take part in the team’s build-up play other than to […]
referees
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Saturday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Nigel Pearson: Bristol City manager wants referees to be given mics for more ‘transparency’ (BBC)2. How a yellow jersey is dividing Brazil By Jaide Timm-Garcia (CNN)3. Rooftop soccer is coming to South Philly’s Bok building By Alexa Mencia (Axios Philadelphia)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
Thursday morning: What we're reading (and listening to)
1. Barcelona spent its way into crisis. Can it now spend its way out? By Tariq Panja (New York Times)2. WSL clubs want ‘quick split’ from FA over fears Euro windfall will be wasted By Tom Garry and Ben Rumsby (Telegraph)3. Semi-automated offside technology to be used by UEFA in Champions League, UEFA Super Cup […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Referee Tales: Lips on the whistle
The following is an excerpt from Ian Plenderleith‘s latest book, “Reffing Hell: Stuck in the middle of a game gone wrong.” Illustrated by Tim Bradford (Halcyon Publishing) City Cup, quarterfinal. I’m standing on the end line in my usual position for a corner kick, about 35 minutes in. It’s 0-0. The corner comes to the […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
An extraordinary refereeing oversight
A rather unpleasant article popped up recently on the website run by PRO — the group that represents the referees engaged in professional soccer in the USA. It is the official voice of the MLS referees, and the article I refer to deals with four incidents from MLS games. Not only unpleasant, but more ominously, […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Soccer refereeing and artificial intelligence
In mid-1980s, I was working on my Ph. D. dissertation at the University of Texas at Austin in the Department of Computer Sciences while refereeing soccer. My dissertation topic in Artificial Intelligence (AI) was “Identifying Visual Objects using General World Knowledge”. At the same time frame, I was one of the top officials of South […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Euro 2022: Sweden unhappy at VAR 'catastrophe'
Sweden forward Kosovare Asllani described the use of fewer cameras for VAR calls at Euro 2022 as a “catastrophe” on Monday after being on the wrong side of a series of tight calls so far in the tournament. The Swedes, who face hosts England in the semi-finals on Tuesday, have had four goals ruled out […]
Posted inStory, Youth Soccer Insider
Should Refs Apologize?
We don’t want to make mistakes but it’s part of being human. You could say that with all the games I have officiated — more than 11,000 — I’ve made more mistakes than most soccer referees. Even with Video Review, some important game decisions are still missed in professional matches. I have seen media coverage […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
(Part 2) Think you know the rules of soccer? Try this quiz.
Part I: Think you know the rules of soccer? Attention fans, coaches, players, parents and TV commentators … Do you know the rules of soccer? Really? Why not test yourself with this multiple-choice quiz? Given what we referees hear from the sideline, you’ll all pass easily. One bit of good news: After several years of […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Steve Taylor
“Completing the unionization process is a testament to the strong will of the officials and the hard work of many who have helped along the way. The PRO2 officials have been looking forward to this day for a long time and they are excited to now be bargaining over working conditions as we move forward.” — […]