referees – blog

Referee Awards Penalty For Handball By Player Who Wasn't In The Game

Thanks to this boneheaded play by Sporting CP’s reserve team player Budag Nasirov, it’s now certain that all handballs in the box are penalties, even if a player, like Nasirov at that moment, is not actually in the game.

Referee Barfs, Receives Red Card

Overcome by some kind of stomach bug, or maybe, as the wonderful Scottish commentator supposes, so offended by the poor quality of this weekend’s Dundee-Kilmarnock match, line judge Andrew McWilliam couldn’t resist the urge to puke, and began blowing chunks out there on the pitch. The head ref took the opportunity to…

French Rugby Player Flattens Referee, Turns His Fury Towards Opponents

Benjamin Casty, the brother of French rugby star Remi, was officiating a French junior cup match between Toulouse and Saint-Esteve last weekend when he sent off an overly fired up Saint-Esteve player. Our man was not ready to leave the field, but he was prepared to pop Casty with a vicious right cross before trying to…

Flexible Soccer Referee Steals Show By Doing Splits To Dodge Ball

Who would’ve thought the most impressive feat of athleticism on display during this youth soccer game would come from the referee?

NFL Referees Hate The Rules On Celebration Penalties, Too

Turns out that NFL referees dislike policing celebration as much as any reasonable person dislikes having to see celebration policed!

Dale Scott Immobilized, Taken Off Field On Stretcher After Taking Foul Tip To The Face

Dale Scott left the field in Toronto tonight on a stretcher as the 31-year veteran umpire took a foul tip directly to the face.

NFL's Head Of Officiating Leaving To Become A TV Guy

NFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino, whose job it is to publicly eat shit every time the the referees blow a call (he eats a lot of shit), is leaving the league for that sweet TV life.

Soccer Pundits Appropriately Bewildered By Referee's Penalty Boner

Newcastle United played Burton Albion yesterday in a match noteworthy only for one particularly galling error made by head referee Keith Stroud. These Sky Sports pundits discussing the mistake on air were just as bemused by the incident as the moment called for.

The Referees Didn't Want You To Have Any Fun Last Night

Everyone expects to see a certain number of lifeless offensive possessions and back-rimmed jumpers in any college basketball game, basically for the same reason you don’t expect to see the most crisply-turned double plays at a minor league ballgame, and it’s really not surprising to see more of those bad things during…

Dumb Shining Moment: Your 2017 NCAA Tournament Lowlight Reel

This year’s edition of Dumb Shining Moment features everybody’s favorite athletes; the men we paid money (to CBS sponsors) to see; the men who really ought to go pro in something other than sports.

March Madness Refs Continue Run Of Stellar Accuracy In Late-Game Situations

Officials whistled Saint Mary’s Jordan Hunter for committing the foul of “being shoved in the back by an opponent.” It sealed a victory for Arizona, which moves on to face Xavier next week. The refs are really on a roll of excellence, folks.

Refs Botch Obvious Basket Interference Call, Penalize Northwestern Instead

Officials allowed Gonzaga to get away with a clear basket interference amidst a late, improbable Northwestern comeback—and when Chris Collins registered his dismay with the blown call, assessed the Wildcats head coach with a technical foul.

Junior College Hockey Player Charged With Assault After Leaving Penalty Box To Attack Ref

Brandon Day, a freshman defenseman for Erie Community College, was arrested and charged with assault last night after he stormed out of the penalty box to tackle a referee, leading officials to call off the rest of the NCJAA title game.

Premier League Ref: Arsène Wenger Told Me To "Fuck Off"

About a month ago, Arsène Wenger got himself a four-match touchline ban for his behavior in a league game between Arsenal and Burnley. We all knew part of the ban was because Wenger pushed the fourth official after being sent to the stands by the head referee, but we didn’t know what exactly he said to get himself…

Lead Premier League Ref Mark Clattenburg Is Taking His Talents To Saudi Arabia

Mark Clattenburg, famous referee/grade-A glory boy who decorates his biceps with tattoos to commemorate big games he called, quit his job as an English Premier League official on Thursday to become the head referee of Saudia Arabia’s football league.

Sorta-Bad Hockey Man Ejected For Weakly Slashing Ref

You can’t hit an official, even if it’s a love tap.

NHL Referee Wes McCauley Puts A Little Extra Into His Fighting Call

The best kind of referee is usually the one who isn’t noticed, but maybe there’s an exception for hockey’s Wes McCauley. He was really into his duty of announcing the penalties after a fight between Torey Krug and Andrew Shaw Sunday:

Canada Loses Davis Cup Tie To Great Britain After Player Drills Umpire In The Face

Canada lost its Davis Cup tie to Great Britain 3-2 after Denis Shapovalov accidentally drilled the chair umpire in the face with a ball in reaction to losing a point.

Hot Mic Catches NHL Ref Swearing At Player

Things get messy down on the ice, especially when players are trying to argue their cases to officials who aren’t trying to hear it. Following an interference penalty on Columbus’s Ryan Murray, 10th-year ref Frederick L’Ecuyer went to announce the call—but not before dropping a pair of F-bombs on an unknown player.

The NBA Refs Union Is Going To War With Mark Cuban

Officiating an NBA game is an incredibly difficult job. You have to monitor ten players, many of whom are trying to get away with some transgression or another on any given play, and keep an eye out for a series of complicated rules violations. Meanwhile, you’re also charged with making split-second calls and…

Russell Westbrook Makes Daring Assist To Referee's Head

Russell Westbrook has the football throw of the night so far, even if it cost him a technical foul.

Kevin Durant On NBA's Referee Reports: "I Think It's Bullshit"

On Christmas, the Golden State Warriors blew a big fourth quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first Finals rematch game. The next day, the NBA admitted that the refs blew a couple big calls at the end of the game. This annoyed Kevin Durant, but not in the direction you might think:

Way To Take The Charge

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Odell Beckham Jr. Credited With Reception For Obvious Drop

Odell Beckham Jr.’s known for his amazing catches, but nothing he’s accomplished matches the mind-blowing “catch” he made early in today’s Lions-Giants game. Despite being in clear view of an official, OBJ’s drop was declared a catch—and with no challenge flag thrown, the play stands as called.

Former NFL Head Of Officiating Mike Pereira Claims Referees Are Getting Illegal Help From Replay Officials

Former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira has been fairly outspoken with his criticism of refereeing since leaving the league in 2010. Now, he has a new specific criticism—that referees are breaking NFL rules by communicating directly with replay officials during games.