Ajax played at FC Utrecht on Sunday in the Eredivisie, a scoreless draw that was relatively unremarkable — except for the exploits of one Lukas Görtler. Utrecht’s German striker Görtler was sent off for a second yellow card, despite having been substituted off the pitch more than 30 minutes prior.
Chelsea had two players shown second yellow cards after being adjudged to have been guilty of simulation during their FA Cup replay against Championship side Norwich on Wednesday. Nonetheless, Antonio Conte’s side survived a 94th-minute equalizer and managed to advance 5-3 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The absurdity of the Chelsea vs. Norwich City replay was not about the beauty of the FA Cup, but instead the beauty of a referee who didn’t take shit from anyone, even with VAR ready to back him up.
One of the few certainties in soccer is players (and coaches) will not get along with referees. There will always be contentious calls and subjective decisions that could go either way. This isn’t exclusive to soccer, but there is one sport that avoids this aspect completely: ultimate Frisbee, which does not have referees. Could the beautiful game ever follow suit and institute self-officiated soccer?
Ligue 1 referee Tony Chapron has been suspended by the French Football Federation (FFF) “until further notice” following his insanely villanous actions at the end of Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-0 victory over Nantes on Sunday.
Abdoulaye Doucouré is one cheeky fella. The Watford midfielder took advantage of some poor refereeing and some poor decision-making from the English FA to help earn his team a point with a 2-2 draw. You see, the 90th-minute Doucoure goal vs Southampton was scored with the Frenchman’s hand.
Yes, it’s still illegal to use your hands if you’re not the goalie. And no, England hasn’t joined the rest of the civilized world by adopting VAR. So yeah, the goal stood, and Southampton is rightly livid.
The institution that is Arsene Wenger was handed a three-match touchline ban and a $54,250 fine for a confrontation with referee Mike Dean after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with West Brom on Sunday. The Wenger ban is nothing new for the Frenchman, who served a four-match touchline ban for a similar behavior last year. And Wenger didn’t even deny these accusations, fully admitting to what he said and standing by his criticism.
Ever wondered how defenders in the 60s and 70s coped with Pelé, perhaps the greatest player of all time? Defending Pelé was really quite simple: They kicked the sh*t out of him. And pushed him around. And threw him to the ground. And kicked him a few dozen more times.
Pelé scored 767 goals over his storied career but he would have had more were it not for the physical play of defenders who quickly realized the only hope they had to stop Pelé was to foul him.
It’s one of the first lessons you learn playing soccer (or most any sport): play to the whistle. That tenet is even more important in the age of VAR, when professionals know the referee can consult replay to confirm goals, at least in countries that aren’t in the Dark Ages. The Mario Mandzukic goal vs. Torino was the result of Juventus punishing its rival for not playing to the whistle in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals on Wednesday.