#var

#var

Fifa is set to press ahead with plans to have VAR checks on the awarding of corner kicks at the 2026 World Cup despite domestic leagues rejecting the idea for the wider game. At an October meeting of the International Football Association Board (Ifab) - which determines the laws of the game - there was agreement that VAR could be expanded to cover incorrectly shown second yellow cards that lead to a red.

With the Republic of Ireland defending their box, a coming together between Republic of Ireland's Dara O'Shea and Ronaldo, left the Ireland defender on the floor. Ronaldo made a crying gesture and signaled it was a dive, but Swedish referee Nyberg awarded a free kick against him and produced a yellow card for adopting an aggressive attitude.

There were many interesting talking points from the dramatic stalemate between Arsenal and Chelsea Alyssa Thompson's stunning goal for the Blues, the impressive defensive performance of Lotte Wubben-Moy, the 56,537-strong crowd, Chelsea's choice of a back four over a back five, Arsenal's decision not to play with a natural No 6 but, disappointingly, it is the quality of the officiating that has and will dominate.

Just six minutes into the game, a shot from Fermin struck the Celta Vigo defender and went out for a corner. And Alberola Rojas received a warning from the VAR room in Las Rozas: "Javi, it's Valen. Look, I recommend a review so you can assess a potential handball penalty. I'm going to start with the point of impact and then give you the details," the VAR official said.

In the end, we were not talking about the football, players, or implications on the title race, as Arsenal vs. Chelsea ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon. Despite it being arguably the biggest clash of the Women's Super League (WSL) season, between two of the top teams (the reigning domestic champions and reigning European champions), we were instead left talking about some dreadful officiating decisions that completely overshadowed what should have been a massive high-stakes clash.

No, not at all, far off. No one can get close to them, so no, the 25-year-old said. This season Haaland has already scored 26 times in 16 appearances in all competitions, registering 13 Premier League strikes, four in the Champions League, and nine for Norway. City could play a maximum of 52 more games this term, while Norway could have 12 more matches if they reach the World Cup final plus a yet to be decided number of friendlies.

From tracking player movement with eerie precision to whispering tactical tweaks into analysts' ears, artificial intelligence is now as common at training grounds as bibs and banter. Clubs crunch mountains of data to predict fatigue, refine pressing triggers, even scout teenagers before they've finished growing. VAR, of course, remains the clumsy cousin still learning when clear and obvious' actually means clear and obvious. But love it or loathe it, AI isn't leaving the pitch anytime soon.

Okay, stop me the moment when Lamine, with his foot... okay, there's no tackle there. It's Vini who hits him with his foot from behind. Lamine doesn't make the tackle on player number 7, Vinicius, from Real Madrid. So I'm going to give a neutral bounce there. I'm going to whistle the foul because it's Vinicius who hits Lamine Yamal.

After good hold-up play from Brian Brobbey, he laid the ball off for Talbi to fire home Sunderland's winner in the 93rd minute, which sparked wild scenes from the away supporters. However, there have been claims made that these celebrations would have been short-lived, as the legitimacy of the goal has been questioned.