Referees

Neymar 3-Match Ban Made Official, Barcelona Star Will Miss El Clasico

Barcelona's slim chances of winning La Liga took another hit Tuesday when it was announced Neymar's rumored ban for sarcastically clapping at an official after he'd been sent off against Malaga had been made official.

The Brazilian attacker will miss three matches: April 15 against Real Sociedad, April 23 against Real Madrid and April 26 against Osasuna. Barcelona were already in dire need of a win against Real Madrid in El Clasico to keep their La Liga hopes alive, and missing 1/3 of their attacking buzzsaw will make their task that much more difficult.

Championship Referee Suffers Immense Brain Fart While Applying Laws Of The Game

In a game with massive implications at both ends of the table in the English Championship (Newcastle United aiming for promotion and the title, Burton Albion trying to avoid relegation), match referee Keith Stroud simply and utterly messed up. He and his assistants, for whatever reason, didn’t know the rules and for a long period of time chaos reigned at St. James’ Park.

With the scores level at 0-0 in the 30th-minute, Stroud pointed to the spot after Dwight Gayle was tripped in the area.

Senegal vs. Ivory Coast Friendly Abandoned After Fans Go After Players

Soccer fans are the best fans in the world — unless they decide to actually disrupt the game.

An international friendly took place in Paris on Monday, March 27th between African rivals Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The match was cut short after fans invaded the pitch and confronted the players on the field. The group of spectators made their way into the stadium by climbing over security fences and running past guards.

Messi Says He Was Yelling At The Air, Not The Ref

Lionel Messi has been suspended from four Argentina World Cup qualifiers (one has already been played) for saying something really bad, either (if FIFA is to be believed) to an assistant referee or (if Messi is to be believed) to the air. Argentina's World Cup qualification may hinge on Messi's excuse holding water.

Well, here's the video, so you can decide for yourself:

What A Fantastic Call By The Ref. We're Sorry We Shouted At You.

We want to start with an apology. Maybe two.

When we first saw this clip of Nemanja Nikolić scoring his first goal for the Chicago Fire, we were so certain he was offside we would have been willing to bet the farm, if we owned one. Since we don't, we settled for screaming with reckless abandon at the television. We may have insulted the ref. We certainly scared the children. The dog still hasn't come out of hiding. Sorry on all fronts.

The Way Handballs Are Called Needs To Be Changed

We all spend hours debating and arguing why a particular handball was called or not, especially when it happens in the 18-yard box. Looking at FIFA’s Laws of the Game, the handball rule is written as followed:

FIFA Laws of the Game P. 82: Handling the ball 

Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm.

Mamadou Sakho Will Crunch Absolutely Anyone He Finds Threatening

After his trials and tribulations at Liverpool, Mamadou Sakho has been granted a new lease on life at Crystal Palace. He’s playing like a madman, helping Palace to two straight wins, two clean sheets and a rise out of the relegation zone. 

Sakho is clearing anything and cleaning out anyone that comes his way. Just look at this from the Frenchman. 

Sakho takes off on a Beckenbauer-esque run after taking the ball off his own teammate. He knows he’s in a blind alley, so he turns and side foots it backwards.

MLS Officials Are Being Instructed To Clamp Down On The Things We All Hate

As a new MLS season approaches, we've been informed of some points of emphasis that league officials will look to clamp down on in 2017. The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) general manager Peter Walton said that the four points of emphasis that MLS referees will focus on for the upcoming season are: holding and pushing in the penalty area, acts of visual dissent, delayed restarts and persistent infringement.

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