Who knows, in another era (last year) or perhaps just another league (most likely La Liga), the referee somehow gets it in his head that Cologne’s Jhon Cordoba has committed a serious foul play here and red cards him. I mean, how else could you explain rugged Hamburg center back Kyriakos Papadopoulos screaming and rolling around like this? Obviously Cordoba has done something unspeakable, so send him off.

In 24 minutes of Spanish Super Cup action on Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo accomplished what many could never achieve over the course of their entire careers. The mercurial forward has always shown an appetite for amassing marks of renown, but Sunday’s first leg at the Camp Nou had something for everyone in the spectrum of The Cristiano Ronaldo Experience.

What a goal.

The Champions League and Europa League have used end-line assistants for a few years now. The Confederations Cup used VAR this summer, and Major League Soccer will start using video review on Saturday. The English Premier League has popularized goal-line technology and this year will have a panel to suspend those who dive or feign injury.

It’s taken a while, but soccer is finally getting its shit together when it comes to officiating the game. 

Nobody likes a big decision more than MLS official Baldomero Toledo. Toledo once set the precedent for what would happen if a player ever took off their jersey only to reveal another jersey underneath — he brandished a second yellow and sent the player off.