FROM THE MIDDLE: Judging fouls can be subjective
The FA once invited a number of football correspondents to watch videos of incidents on the football field. They were all given four cards to...
Tag : referees column
FROM THE MIDDLE: Leaving the field after injury
During the Swansea v Reading match, which I watched on Now TV, Michael Olise, the Reading midfielder, had a breakaway and was sprinting towards the...
FROM THE MIDDLE: What if the ball bursts?
When you start refereeing, there are so many Laws to learn, including some obscure ones that you may never have to deal with during your...
FROM THE MIDDLE: Club officials can also get yellow and red cards
Reading Football Club supporters who have watched their games on their computers or televisions will have seen their new manager, Veljko Paunovic, shown a yellow...
FROM THE MIDDLE: Football concussion laws overdue
Two weeks ago, there was an horrific clash of heads between Arsenal’s centre back, David Luiz, and Wolves star striker Raul Jimenez, when they both...
FROM THE MIDDLE: Changes to kicks from the penalty mark
There are a number of instances in football for which players, supporters and football commentators have different names to that used by referees. For instance,...
FROM THE MIDDLE: Changes to the penalty kick
The highest profile for changes to the Laws this season, has been for handball but there are 15 changes altogether. These include changes to the...
FROM THE MIDDLE: You will notice a change in VAR
By Dick Sawdon Smith It is fair to say, I think, that for Premier League fans, the most complaints last season came from decisions made...
From the middle: Premier League take action on handball
Last week I mentioned that the Premier League was discussing action against some of the most controversial parts of the revised Laws of the Game...
FROM THE MIDDLE: Handball- what’s all the fuss about?
Until a couple of seasons ago, deciding on handball by referees was simple. Perhaps deceptively so.Handball was a direct free kick offence if a player...