#referee-reports

#referee-reports

The average age of a player in Serie A is 28 years, making it the 8th-oldest league in Europe, which raises concerns about the league's future competitiveness.

The big talking point was the two penalties. It's clear as day. I don't know what more you want him to do - pick the ball up with two hands, are you going to give a penalty then or not?

A four-match ban and fine of 50,000 Egyptian pounds (700) for assaulting the referee by pushing or pulling [use of the hand without violence], said a league statement on El-Shenawy's punishment.

I don't care about these things, it's this business, there's a lot of noise between us, but that's what I tell the team, we have to focus on ourselves and not on what Real Madrid does, we are in a good position and we have to win every game and only think about ourselves.

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.

One poor decision is forgivable, two is careless, but there were a hat-trick of howlers, with Tammy Abraham clearly offside for Aston Villa's opener. Lucas Digne needed his own dedicated review booth, escaping with a yellow card for an agricultural tackle on Jacob Murphy and avoiding a penalty for handball. Officials ruled that Digne handled the ball outside the penalty area, an impressive feat given that he both took off and landed inside the box as he jumped to block a cross.

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.