Brentford head coach Keith Andrews believes the video assistant referee (VAR) is preventing referees from making decisions in matches. As his Bees progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round with a battling 2-1 win at League One side Reading, Andrews said he was not happy with the officiating. Reading defender Paudie O’Connor had a goal … Read more
Premier League referees are in the spotlight after a number of high-profile incidents during the weekend fixtures. When are they not? Refereeing decisions come and go. Mistakes are made because that’s what humans do. Whether or not there’s sufficient and suitable accountability in those instances is a matter of opinion, but there’s probably more than … Read more
With Haaland’s goal settling the match, United were unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision. “I think it was offside,” said Martinez. “And what I can’t understand is the rules. I want to be calm now, I want to control myself. “It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every … Read more
Women’s Super League Q&A The WSL season kicks-off tonight and the Guardian’s women’s football writer Suzanne Wrack is answering your questions at 1pm BST/8am ET. Ask her anything: from her career as a sports reporter to her hopes for the new season and the future of the women’s game: Share Key events The vibesman cometh… … Read more
It’s always seemed strange that FIFA is willing to use the World Cup as a guinea pig for changes to the Laws of the Game. Football’s premier competition is jealously guarded, more and more so as the governing body’s own logo has been afforded the limelight, and yet every major experiment and tweak is live-tested … Read more
The Premier League will permit audio of on-field conversations between players and referees during live broadcasts for the first time this season. The use of audio by the Premier League’s domestic rights holders, Sky Sports and TNT Sports, is part of an expansion of the RefCam system, which became a permanent feature of top-flight coverage … Read more
Rosetti conceded that trying to find a consistent approach across all leagues, which tend to have their own interpretations of some offences, would be difficult. In particular, handball continues to cause issues across football. The Premier League had the most relaxed interpretation of handball last season, with a handball penalty every 17.27 games. Then came … Read more
While both England’s and France’s World Cup journeys were cut short in the semifinals, the pair of national teams will face off in one more match for third place. England fell to defending champion Argentina, 2-1, on Wednesday, and France lost, 2-0, to Spain on Tuesday. France entered the World Cup as heavy favorites and … Read more
There’s no questioning that Cooper Flagg has been one of the brightest performers in the NBA this season. However, it looks like the 19-year-old still has a long way to go before he earns the respect of the league. Like many NBA players before him, Flagg has been subjected to contentious calls by the referees, … Read more
The Detroit Pistons continued to show their transformation from a lottery team into a legitimate contender, battling on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Detroit erased an 18-point second-half deficit to force overtime but ultimately came up just short in a 116–114 loss. Despite the gritty comeback, the game was overshadowed by controversial … Read more