#afc-sanctioning

#afc-sanctioning

Mohamed Meite scored his first Pro League goal to put Al-Taawoun ahead late in the first half, wriggling away from Mohammed Mahzari and firing home at the near post.

For me, it is clearly a red card for the Arsenal player. She's pulling Alyssa Thompson's hair. If the VAR is not able to check that situation, I don't know why we have the VAR. I'm the one getting a red card when I think the Arsenal player should be the one getting a red card.

The report describes the situation as a 'human rights emergency' and points to what it calls a 'recognizable pattern of authoritarian practices' in the country.

The ongoing discussions regarding future structural changes to the game, such as the introduction of new tournaments (eg. Fifa Club World Cup), further intensify this challenge. These changes have the potential to significantly reduce the downtime available to elite players, affecting their recovery and overall well-being.

Record nine-time Women's Asian Cup champions China face host nation Australia in the first semifinal of the 2026 tournament. China are also this edition's defending champions, having won the last title in India in 2022.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has told Sky News that footballers who cover their mouths in confrontations with rivals should be sent off on the presumption they are being offensive.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw on Wednesday to determine the quarterfinal pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone playoffs that were postponed because of the war in the Middle East have been rescheduled for April 13-14 in Jeddah.

Senegal's players walked off the pitch in protest when hosts Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty before eventually returning. Following an appeal by the Moroccan FA, the Confederation of African Football ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match, with the result being recorded as 3-0 in favor of Morocco.

Despite only walking away from the incident with one yellow card, while Hammers centre back Jean-Clair Todibo was sent off for throttling João Pedro, it was Chelsea who found themselves fined £325,000 ($440,000) compared to the £300,000 which West Ham have to pay.

The club's use of slogans such as 'forever pure', and the repeated chanting of ethnic slurs such as 'terrorist' directed at Arab players, are not isolated incidents but rather form part of a systemic pattern of conduct that offends the basic rules of decent behaviour and brings the sport into disrepute.

Corners and second yellow cards will be added to the scope of the video assistant referee (VAR) for this summer's World Cup. Other rule changes for the 2026 World Cup will include new rules in place to cut down on time wasting by teams to ensure games flow more quickly. This will be achieved by countdowns on goal kicks, throw-ins, and substitutions, which have so often been taken slowly by teams if they're protecting a narrow lead late in games.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the laws of football, said it will consult about mouth-covering, after Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni was alleged to have racially abused Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior during a Champions League match last week while his mouth was covered by his shirt.

Image source, Getty Images Football's lawmakers will consider widening the remit for red cards when a goalscoring opportunity is denied at a meeting on Tuesday. However, Arsene Wenger's "daylight" offside proposal is set to be kicked into touch in favour of a different idea which is fairer for defences. Goalkeeper tactical timeouts, time-wasting and video assistant referee (VAR) tweaks are among other items on the agenda.

At the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d'Ivoire, officiating was at its finest, with the Confederation of African Football's video assistant referee operation setting standards that were the envy of the Premier League and several other European leagues. Sadly, refereeing standards took a nosedive at this tournament, which many associate with the abrupt dismissal of the Ivorian Noumandiez Doue as head of Caf's refereeing department on the eve of last year's African Nations Championship.

It is extremely regrettable that the match against Aberdeen was postponed, particularly at such a late stage. While we understand the decision, clearly we sympathise with our supporters, many of whom had begun making their journeys or had arrived in Aberdeen already. We have raised the matter with the SPFL, to understand whether the SPFL pitch inspection protocol was followed correctly. In our view, there must be the ability to make earlier decisions on matches.