Tag: VAR

  • EPL: We made mistakes in some games – Referee’s union admits

    EPL: We made mistakes in some games – Referee’s union admits

    Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) has admitted there were mistakes made in the games involving Chelsea versus WestHam, Newcastle versus’

    PGMOL noted that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) incidents at Chelsea and Newcastle on Saturday were mistakes made after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.

    The Premier League asked the officiating board to investigate the referees’ body after series of complains in some games on match day 6.

    Saturday’s Premier League action was marred by a couple of decisions that were either overturned, thanks to the intervention of VAR or not given.

    After the Premier League called for an investigation into key decisions at Stamford Bridge and St James’ Park, PGMOL has acknowledged errors were made in the incidents that denied West Ham and Newcastle goals.

    Maxwell Cornet’s equalizer was chalked off after VAR review and referee ruled that Chelsea Goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy was fouled by Jarrod Bowen in the  build up leading to the goal.

    Meanwhile, Arsenal coach Arteta has also questioned referee Tierney for disallowing Martineli’s goal against Manchester United.

    Manchester United defeated Arsenal by 3-1 with goals from Matheus Anthony and Marcus Rashford, while Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s only goal.

    Professional Game Match Officials Limited is the body responsible for match officials in English professional football.

     

  • WAFCON: NFF hails Nigerian Officials Calvin-Onwuka, Madu on  glorious outing

    WAFCON: NFF hails Nigerian Officials Calvin-Onwuka, Madu on glorious outing

    The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated Nigerian officials Patience Ndidi Madu and Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka for their historic feats in their various roles at the ongoing 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

    Madu, who also officiated at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, became the first Nigerian referee to officiate in a Women AFCON match using the Video Assistant Referee device when she took charge of the group stage encounter between Burkina Faso and Uganda. She served as the fourth official in two other games.

    Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka became the first Nigeria assistant referee in the quarter-finals of a Women AFCON that deployed the Video Assistant Referee when she played that role during the quarter-final encounter between South Africa’s Banyana Banyana and Tunisia. Calvin-Onwuka had earlier been part of the group stage encounters between Togo and Tunisia, and the match between Burkina Faso and Uganda where Madu was the referee.

    “We congratulate Patience Madu and Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka for their historic outings and we urge them to continue to do Nigeria proud at all matches and tournaments in which they find themselves. Both officials have been improving brilliantly in the past years and we commend them for their strong determination to keep improving themselves, self-motivating, and performing diligently at a high level,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said on Tuesday.

    In her quarter-final experience, Calvin-Onwuka was yoked with Salima Mukansanga – the Rwandan official who is widely regarded as the leading woman referee on the African continent. The 33-year-old officiated at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals and is one of three women referees globally who have been shortlisted for the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar later this year. She has also officiated at the Olympics and the CAF Women’s Champions League.

    Earlier this year in Cameroon, Mukansanga became the first woman to referee an Africa Cup of Nations match.

    Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka is one of the referees shortlisted to perform at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica, slated for 10th – 28th August.

  • WAFCON: 2 Nigerian women referees, 38 others selected [Full list]

    Two Nigerians — Patience Madu and Agatha Iyorhe — are among the 40 match officials selected for the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

    The continental football governing body on Friday revealed on its website the list of officials for the tournament scheduled for July 2 and July 23 in Rabat and Casablanca.

    While Madu is on the list of referees, Iyorhe is on the list of assistant referees.

    The list comprises 16 referees, 16 assistant referees and eight Video Assistant Referees (VARs).

    The referees are from 24 countries, with five of the overall 40 from Morocco, four from Egypt and three from Mauritius.

    The officials have been selected after a rigorous process which started a few years ago with 226 women who were evaluated over this period.

    Rwandan Salima Mukansanga made history at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon in January by becoming the first woman to referee a match at the competition.

    She was recently selected as the only woman referee from Africa to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

    She now headlines the list of referees for the 12th WAFCON, alongside Bouchkra Karboubi (Morocco) and Carine Atezambong (Cameroon) who were all part of that historic game in Cameroon.

    Speaking on the selection, CAF Director of Refereeing, Eddy Maillet, said: “Africa has made serious leaps in the development of women match officials.

    “This final list comprises of currently the best in the continent. It took us a long time to get here. The several workshops and training camps we held assisted us in getting to the final decision.

    “It was essential for us to bet on top quality, refereeing being one of the main priorities of CAF.

    “And to fine-tune the last details, we are organising a preparation course for all the referees of the competition, starting from June 25 in Rabat.”

    The training and development of the referees included practical sessions in matches.

    The opening match of the 12th WAFCON tagged “Morocco 2022” will feature hosts Morocco and debutants Burkina Faso on July 2 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Complex in Rabat.

    LIST OF SELECTED REFEREES FOR WAFCON 2022:

    REFEREES

    1. Maria Packuita Cynquela Rivet —- Mauritius
    2. Ganouati Dorsaf —- Tunisia
    3. Shahenda Saad Ali Elmaghrabi —- Egypt
    4. Akona Zenith Makalima —– South Africa
    5. Lidya Tafesse Abebe —– Ethiopia
    6. Mame Coumba Faye —- Senegal
    7. Shamira Nabadda —- Uganda
    8. Zomadre Sonia Kore —- Cote d’Ivoire
    9. Aissata Boudy Lam —– Mauritania
    10. Salima Mukansanga —– Rwanda
    11. Amedome Vincentia Enyonam — Togo
    12. Viana Letticia —– Eswatini
    13. Suavis Iratunga —– Burundi
    14. Karboubi Bouchra —- Morocco
    15. Madu Ndidi Patience —– Nigeria
    16. Twanyanyukwa Ndemugwanitha Antsino — Namibia

    ASSISTANT REFEREES

    1. Rakotozafinoro Lidwine Pelagie —- Madagascar
    2. Atef Said Abdelfattah Yara —- Egypt
    3. Kanjinga Mireille Mujanayi —- DR Congo
    4. Chikotesha Diana —– Zambia
    5. Fanta Kone —- Mali
    6. Atezambong Fomo Carine —– Cameroon
    7. Mariem Chedad —– Mauritania
    8. Yekini Shitou Nafissatou —– Benin
    9. Afine Houda —– Tunisia
    10. Ouahab Asma Feriel —– Algeria
    11. Mimisen Agatha Iyorhe —– Nigeria
    12. Hamdi Soukaina —– Morocco
    13. Kwimbira Bernadettar —– Malawi
    14. Queency Victoire —– Mauritius
    15. Jermoumi Fatiha —– Morocco
    16. Mona Mahmoud Atallah Mostafa —– Egypt

    VAR REFEREES

    1. Guirat Haythem —- Tunisia
    2. Benbraham Lahlou —- Algeria
    3. Ahmed Elgandour —- Egypt
    4. Samir Guezzaz —- Morocco
    5. El Ajjani Fatima Zahra —- Morocco
    6. Ahmed Imtehaz Heerallal —- Mauritius
    7. Brinsi Zakaria —– Morocco
    8. Ahmed Hossameldin Taha Ibrahim —- Egypt

  • Upgraded semi-automated offside VAR on course for use at Qatar World Cup

    The introduction of Artificial Intelligence-driven semi-automated VAR offside technology remains on course to be used at the World Cup in Qatar.

    That is the message from The International Football Association Board (The IFAB), the organisation that determines the laws of football.

    Offside decisions using VAR have been taking up to four minutes, with the technology aiming to cut the decision down to three or four seconds by providing faster information.

    Chelsea were the first English Premier League (EPL) side to experience the technology during the FIFA Club World Cup in February.

    This was just two months after the initial semi-automated system made its debut.

    The IFAB continues in its discussions with FIFA as to the implementation of the upgraded VAR system, with the aim to utilise the offside technology at the upcoming World Cup in November.

    “It looks very good and very promising,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino told a news conference on Monday.

    “Our experts are looking into [the trials] before we take a decision on whether it will be used for the World Cup or not.”

    FIFA’s head of refereeing Pierluigi Collina, added: “My personal opinion is that I’m very confident we can go ahead with this.

    “We want to achieve accuracy, quicker decisions, also more accepted decisions.

    “We have seen in matches where the semi-automated offside was implemented (and) these objectives were achieved.

    “It uses the same process as goal-line technology, and we have seen (that) that is very well accepted by the football community. Nobody comments on this.

    “We are confident that the same reaction, in terms of acceptance, can be given to the semi-automated offside.”

    The Premier League in England is expected to introduce the technology, if successful at the World Cup, in the 2023/2024 season.

    Trials are also in the works to give attacking players the advantage in offside situations, with Collina revealing the rules are under consideration.

    “We are considering that a very marginal offside is not that relevant to be punished in modern football,” Collina added.

    “So, we are running this experiment. Unfortunately, the competitions where these trials were allowed were suspended or abandoned for almost two years due to the pandemic.

    “So, now we have tests going on in [youth football] in the Netherlands, in Italy and in Sweden and certainly we will come to conclusions once we have evidence and figures from these trials.”

    The IFAB also confirmed it was investigating how to reduce time-wasting, with the ball usually in action for just 54 minutes of a 90-minute match.

  • Soccer legends Ferdinand, Shearer rue over Real Madrid’s disallowed goal

    England soccer legends, Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer have reacted to Real Madrid first half disallowed goal in the encounter versus Liverpool in UEFA champions League final played at Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

    Recall that French striker Karim Benzema had scored for Real Madrid at the tail end of the first half but the goal was ruled out for offside

    Benzema controlled nicely in the box and then took a couple of touches before trying to round Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson Becker.

    Benzema lost control of the ball, but Ibrahima Konate and Alisson made a mess of the clearance.

    Three players then challenged for the ball and it came back to Benzema who slotted past Alisson.

    The linesman raised his flag for offside, but replays showed Fabinho got the last touch before Benzema’s strike.

    In his reaction, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand said: “I still don’t understand it. If I am a Real Madrid player, I am going bananas.”

    Also reacting on the disallowed goal Shearer said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I can’t work that one out because it looked like it came off Fabinho to reach Benzema.

    “It was typical Real Madrid, they do concede chances and if you don’t take them, they punish you with the ability they have upfront.

    “The run in behind was exceptional and he could have scored earlier. Liverpool got away with one there.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ben Chilwell slams VAR after Chelsea’s Champions League exit

    Ben Chilwell slams VAR after Chelsea’s Champions League exit

    Injured Chelsea fullback Ben Chilwell slammed VAR after seeing his teammates eliminated from the Champions League at Real Madrid.

    The Blues were trailing 3-1 from the first-leg quarterfinal at Stamford Bridge, but had the scores locked at 3-3 at one stage last night.

    Chelsea were in dreamland as Alonso notched a third in the 61st minute to give them a 3-0 lead, but VAR left them shattered and furious after claiming the Spaniard had handled the ball in the build-up in a major reprieve for Los Blancos.

    The wing-back’s initial effort was blocked by Dani Carvajal, but as the ball ricocheted off Carvajal it clattered into Alonso’s hip, grazing his hand in the process.

    The former Bolton Wanderers man thumped the ball into the top corner with his weaker right foot before charging off to celebrate – only to be devastated to see it ruled out.

    With the goal ruled out the score was reverted back to 2-0 and 3-3 on aggregate. Real Madrid eventually won the tie, despite losing last night 2-3.

    Team-mate Ben Chilwell has bemoaned the hand ball law after Alonso was denied.

    The injured left-back took to social media to express his frustration at the decision, as he tweeted: “This hand ball rule…”

  • Manchester City into UCL last eight round after Sporting Lisbon stalemate

    Manchester City into UCL last eight round after Sporting Lisbon stalemate

    Manchester City sailed through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after a 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon in their last-16 round second leg clash on Wednesday, progressing 5-0 on aggregate.

    The English champions had already done the hard work in their thrashing of the Portuguese side in the first leg three weeks ago in Lisbon, and could take it easy.

    Moreover, it was against an inferior Sporting Lisbon at the Etihad Stadium.

    Pep Guardiola could afford to make several changes to his starting team.

    That was with one of those players coming in —- Raheem Sterling —- going closest to scoring in the first half after his close-range effort was saved.

    Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus, making his first Champions League start of the season, did have the ball in the net early in the second half.

    But his clever finish was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.

    Paulinho almost earned Sporting Lisbon victory late on, but it was not to be as Manchester City held on in cruise control to progress.

  • Teslim Balogun VAR will be ready in two weeks – LSSC

    Teslim Balogun VAR will be ready in two weeks – LSSC

    The Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission, (LSSC), Oluwatoyin Gafaar has said the installation of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere would be ready in two weeks.

    Gafaar made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

    He said the upgrade was to meet the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) demand should the stadium be chosen to host the Super Eagles’ Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers against the Black Stars of Ghana.

    The first leg of the match will take place in Ghana on March 24 while the return leg will come up in Nigeria on March 29.

    Gafaar said that there were ongoing conversations with relevant stakeholders to have the Super Eagles play in Lagos.

    “We are ready as ever to give our best to the nation and to the Super Eagles. If we look at the previous matches, the team feels more at home in Lagos.

    “The stadium will meet CAF standards in less than two weeks. Lagos is home to football,” he said.

    According to him, regardless of CAF guidelines that specify the provision of VAR, Lagos is interested in hosting the tie between the Super Eagles and Black Stars of Ghana.

    “Lagos has been tested for CAF matches; so, the issue of VAR is not a big deal because we have been on it for a while and we will install it in two weeks and make it functional,” he said.

  • VAR to be used in all 52 AFCON matches

    VAR to be used in all 52 AFCON matches

    All 52 matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which begins on Sunday in Cameroon will have the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition gets underway with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

    The final match of the 24-team competition will hold at the same venue on Feb. 6.

    The organisers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had previously used VAR from the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 edition in Egypt.

    However, CAF has now advanced with a full use of the innovation which gained worldwide recognition by 2018.

    It is expected to help improve the image of refereeing and also produce world-class match officials in Africa.

    Sixty-three match officials, including women referees Salima Mukasanga (Rwanda), Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco) and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco), have been listed for the matches.

    The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight VARs, all coming from 36 countries.

    The roster includes two referees from the CONCACAF as part of an inter-confederation skills exchange programme.

  • What I don’t understand about VAR – Liverpool coach

    What I don’t understand about VAR – Liverpool coach

    Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders feels VAR needs adjusting.

    Lijnders said there has not been any conversations with referees’ chief Mike Riley after Sunday’s controversies at Tottenham.

    “No, because everyone saw what happened,” he said. “I think VAR is a good thing that is in football because it can help to make the big decisions right.

    “Everybody makes mistakes, I make mistakes, if me and Jurgen [Klopp] make big mistakes we get punished, if players make big mistakes they get punished, but if referees make big mistakes probably or usually the teams or the players get punished as well and that’s not correct.

    “I’m not talking about the small mistakes in the game because that’s football, it goes so quick, but VAR is there to help the referee and what I still don’t understand is why VAR is always a separate person, why VAR is not part of a team. They need to be a team because together they are responsible.

    “I wish we had VAR to make better decisions as coaches because then I won’t make mistakes.”