Level as in standard of quality in terms the referees' work. So a lengthier paraphrase would be "This is the low quality of officiating you guys provide during the game and then you go and complain (about player and coach behavior) afterward at the press conference."
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/cELfRTd2Wm Mateu Lahoz has spoken about the celta-Madrid referees performance lol
32 years old and quite new to the top division. Very interesting to see how his assignments go from here.
AC Milan vs. Como in Australia to go ahead - Serie A chief - ESPN The proposed Italian league game between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, scheduled for Feb. 8 will go ahead with Asian referees officiating, Serie A president Ezio Maria Simoncelli has confirmed. Simoncelli acknowledged the encounter was in doubt because of conditions set by the Asian Football Confederation, which included the use of referees as opposed to Italian.
The NFL is technically a domestic league so I figured this is the best place to put this comment. For those who didn't see it, the Pittsburgh-Detroit game today (played in Detroit) ended on a final play where it appeared Detroit scored the winning touchdown but there was a flag on the play. After a ridiculously long discussion the official turned on his mic to confirm that a touchdown was scored on the play. At this point the stadium erupted making it almost impossible to hear the rest of the announcement, that the flag was on Detroit which resulted in a penalty and the end of the game, the touchdown did not count. All I could think is that they really needed Filip Dujic and his HOWEVER there to make the announcement.
I immediately thought of this as well while watching. The "zebras huddled up" is where football referees get the majority of the criticism, but in their defense that play was a good example of why it is unfortunately necessary. In soccer, the foul happens and *usually* the play is immediately dead. In football, you've got multiple fouls and you've got to work through order of operations to figure out what comes first and what takes precedence.
For all of FIFA's issues with VAR, there's more transparency with what goes on in the background than there is in the NFL and who is really making the call. There's growing suspicion that the rules analyst in Thursday night's game tipped off the guys in the office that they botched the two-point conversion, which would explain why so much time went by before the kickoff. It would be like Joe Machnik tipping off VAR or the Asst VAR that they missed an obvious hand ball during their mandatory water break in the opening game of the World Cup. We've even gotten to hear the terse conversation two months ago between the Serie A referee and VAR and the entire video transcript of the botched restart a few years ago in a Premier League match. In the NFL, this would never happen as they still operate in a secretive world.
Yes, but it’s well known that “New York” (league HQ) will assist on calls and that’s allowed in the rules.
Yes, everyone is aware of that. The issue is game commentators apparently chiming in to New York and the lack of transparency on video reviews compared to VAR in soccer.
A text-book example of when AR assistance is required for DOGSO decisions. Start at 55 seconds if it doesn't load.
Anyone remember when Tori Penso also pulled the “however” in the opposite direction? https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAOhbQ2RhQz/
First incident in this highlight package. One look, gut reaction, what do you have? Watching it again more than once and thinking, anything different?
I think I need to go get State Farm. Oh, wait, maybe that was just an ad before the incident started.... First look I have nothing with it difficult to tell how close the defender was to the play when the keeper pushed him to the ground. I'm also wondering why the attacker slide in like that. I paused at 0:12 and see this.
Unfortunate scene after Al-Taawoun vs Al-Shabab game. Abdullah Matuq spat at the referee after full-timeVAR was checked, the referee called him back from the dressing room, and showed him a straight red 🟥A six-month suspension is expected pic.twitter.com/sSYf31FvCg— All About SPL 🔔 🇸🇦 (@Saudifutbol) January 10, 2026
Yes, let's bring back the guy who spit towards me so I can issue a red card in front of the public and possibly get my head bashed in. He needs VAR to be informed he was spat towards when he's staring at him? Do any of these guys have any self esteem, regardless of which domestic league they're officiating in?
I think 22' in the the Supercopa is red. Like, an easy red. No card or foul given. No VAR intervention.
The commentary there until you actually see what De Jong did.... amazing. That's a great SFP red card.
Can you imagine if they weren't in 1st place: Antonio Conte was shown a red card for his reaction to Inter Milan being awarded a penalty 🟥 pic.twitter.com/wzaNzIMJoo— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) January 11, 2026