On Thursday, we highlighted what was almost certainly the quickest trip to the monitor by any referee in the VAR era. It took the ref less than a second to make a decision. On Sunday, during Brighton’s comprehensive 3-0 win over Newcastle at St. James’ Park, referee Kevin Friend wanted to spend a bit more time watching Yves Bissouma crack Jamal Lewis in the face.
The Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille on Sunday ended in a scuffle between the two sides that resulted in five red cards. The fight was prompted by Marseille center back Alvaro allegedly directing a racist slur toward PSG star Neymar.
This story alone was enough to warrant significant media attention, but the comments made by French Football Federation (FFF) president Nöel Le Graët on Tuesday made the issue even more pertinent.
Between August 12 and 23 in Lisbon, Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain changed the narrative surrounding the club by advancing to the Champions League final and performing admirably against Bayern Munich.
In the space of four days coinciding with the club’s start to the 2020-21 season, you could say that PSG has reverted to an even lesser version of its old self.
Players who deliberately cough at opponents or referees can be shown red or yellow cards under new guidelines issued by England's Football Association (FA) amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The instructions to referees taking charge of games when COVID-19 restrictions are in place will come into force immediately and be applied at all levels of the game.
If you ever plan on removing your shirt for a goal, then make sure you're not already on a yellow card folks. Here's a prime example of why.
With the score tied at 2-2 in the 69th minute, Atlanta United 2 (a real original name) had a free kick in a dangerous area against Miami FC (not Inter Miami). Miami then made the bold move of allowing Atlanta’s Jackson Conway to run completely unmarked across the face of goal.
Apart from Zinedine Zidane’s masterful headbutt on Marco Materazzi, the most infamous foul in 21st century World Cup finals is certainly Nigel de Jong’s hatchet man kung fu kick into the chest of Xabi Alonso.
It should’ve been a straight red — even referee Howard Webb admitted as much later — but it takes some cojones to effectively end the World Cup final after only 28 minutes.
Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi woke up Wednesday morning with two holes in his face after receiving a Jamie Vardy boot to the side of his head during Tuesday’s match. The match between Arsenal and Leicester City ended 1-1 after Vardy scored the Foxes’ equalizer in the final moments of the match. Some argue the Leicester striker shouldn’t have been on the field after the incident with Mustafi before halftime.
Here is the controversial moment between Vardy and Mustafi in the 45th minute:
USMNT defender Matt Miazga is unable to stray away from controversy. Notable Miazga moments include the American being fined for grabbing another player’s groin and the time he made fun of Diego Lainez’s height during a friendly. The latest Miazga incident is getting suspended for Reading’s next three matches after throwing punches against Derby County.
Luton Town arrived at Swansea City's Liberty Stadium on Saturday embroiled in a relegation battle, but the team became involved in a different kind of fight on the pitch. Luton striker James Collins put the Championship strugglers ahead 1-0 with a 72nd minute header, but the real action kicked off shortly after, following a series of increasingly harsh tackles: