It's about time ...

Majority-woman crew officiates Division II football game in apparent first for NCAA

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The officials sprinted around the field keeping order, throwing flags and even telling the Miles College band to hush once.

It was a typical college football game Thursday night except that four of the seven people wearing the black-and-white stripes were women. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Washington Post.

Kicking Back Comments: Stepping into a situation generally dominated by another group is hard. By all accounts these ladies did very well. It would be stunning to see a woman in the NFL. I think it would be good for the boys and certainly challenge their perspective.

There is one disadvantage that I see however ... particularly with football ...

I believe (truly) that it should be compulsory for a referee to have played the sport that they will now officiate. It does not have to be at the same level (in fact in many cases it likely can not be as there is nearly an equal time spent "making the pro's" as a referee as it is as a player) but at a level where a referee can develop a sense of specific empathy for a competing player. 

For me it was easy. I played from age 5 on straight through to college ... and even after in far more limited circumstances. It help me develop a sense of empathy that I carried forward throughout my career.

My concern with the ladies in football is the same. Some may have certainly played full contact, and good on them for doing so. Some however may not have, and leaves open the possibility for a criticism of these referees that may be justified.

Please note, I believe this is true at the highest levels of the respective game, al la, MLS, NFL, NHL, NBA, and their respective farm teams.

I don't believe this is necessarily the case in some sports even at the collegiate level, and certainly not any level below that. Refereeing should not be reserved for "former players only." 

But I do believe that former players have a slant as a referee that others do not, that helps them manage the highest level player better than those who do not have that experience.

Somehow this has to be the referees fault. No?

Kicking Back Comments: Ouch. Take a look at the number of related videos too.

Here's one for you all however on a serious note. Does a referee use this later in the match if that player, or others, give a referee grief about a decision?

Fair game?

Refereeing Happens Before, During, and After a Match

Take a look at this 2005 clip form Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira.



Even before the match, the referee was right there and rightly involved himself in the discussion to make sure things did not get any further out of hand.

You may wonder too why referees warm up inside the field, and at times chat with players. This is a good reason.

Refereeing is less about "controlling" the match at this level and more about managing the people involved. This clip is an excellent example of the latter.

Good News for All

MLS, USL Pro reach deal on restructured Reserve League

It's been rumored for months, and on Wednesday afternoon MLS and USL Pro made it official: The two leagues have reached an agreement to integrate MLS Reserve League teams into the USL Pro schedule, a multi-year deal that will feature "interleague" play between MLSRL teams and the 13 USL Pro sides.

In the year ahead, that deal also includes affiliations for select teams, facilitating loans from MLS to USL Pro clubs (the third tier of the US soccer pyramid) for players who otherwise wouldn't get much playing time in the top flight. The goal is to immediately improve professional player development in the United States and Canada, providing more and better competition for young pros with big-league dreams. ...

See the whole story here, from MLS.

Kicking Back Comments: This is great news for players and referees alike. For players it is a chance to shine before getting into the big time. For referees it is a chance to see if they "have the stuff", or for that matter, even want to go on to the bigs if they get a chance.

Lower division play is not all that glamorous. In fact, it is bitter work for all involved.

It is also bitter work I would never trade away my whole life. One of these days I am going to write a book about all the crazy stuff that goes on in "the minors."

For some perspective, watch Bull Durham. It was a standard "warm up" for me before I did a D3 or A-League match somewhere.

Here is a classic clip (viewer warning on adult language):

A Touch of Class

Report: Lampard set to join LA Galaxy

Chelsea ace Frank Lampard has reportedly reached a deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy and will join the Major League Soccer champions next season according to Goal.com.

LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena has refused to rule out the possibility of a deal being done for Chelsea veteran Lampard. The MLS outfit have been strongly linked with the England international ever since it became apparent that Lampard would not be offered a contract extension at Stamford Bridge. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fox Soccer.

Kicking Back Comments: I think this is a great move my MLS personally. Sadly, one of the few ways to keep the attention of the American public is to keep having international starts like Lampard on our pitches.

Of course MLS should be able to stand up alone ... and I honestly think it can ... but this does not hurt in the least.

Interesting, yet misguided

So I was cruising Blogger the other day and purely by accident ran across e-Diski.com. In particular I got into reading "The European managers complain but refs have it easy", and found it interesting, informative in spots, but also misguided.

Of interest to me was the particular detail that the author cited percentages of issues. For example, "According to the results, 83 per cent of managers feel the handball law requires further clarification." I am particularly curious to see the source of this (and other) data cited. It was actually very interesting, even if not scientific.

The author does go into some good detail about this in a cursory analysis of what should, or should not be handling. I was particularly amused with the authors line regarding discerning intent and the "... gender of a goat." Trust me and read the article.

Where the author and I disagree is in regard to technology. He is a proponent, I am not. I think there are good points on both sides of the equation, I just happen to come down on the side of the human element deciding matches, not a NFL type review on even critical plays.

Where the author leaves his senses is here:

"Look, anything that gives advantage to the attacking team and good football should be encouraged. High level managers should be crying about the disallowed goals due to wrong offside calls from referees. Video technology should be employed for this and maybe even questionable offside decisions by referees should be punished. While I understand the speed of the game and the quick decisions they make, I distaste that with all my good heart. Managers and coaches also lose jobs because of those wrong decisions, the tactical mistakes they do and even the bad decisions players make.

Why should referees have it easy?"

He's kidding right? 

Assuming the paths to get to that level are equal, and I do not believe they are personally (as I think the number of correct decisions that are required to be made is much higher for a referee) it is more likely that a referee will not be given many "bites of the apple" at the higher (not highest) level before they are dismissed.

A manager, would really, really have to screw things up to get dismissed in a year. I can cite some MLS managers as examples ... 

A referee gets a very limited time in which to adjust at the higher levels. Let me share a personal story.

My first MLS match, I failed the assessment ... badly. I should have as well. I missed a wicked tackle that I gave only a caution for ... what should have been a straight send off. It was so bad that at the very next stoppage the manager substituted the player who committed the foul because he knew that I blew it, and anything close to a caution was going to get that player sent.

First MLS match a joyous occasion after in the locker room ... not so much.

It was clear, and I was told after ... adjust, or out you go.

This was reasonable to me as while there was some flexibility in getting acclimated to that level, no one referee is worth the "product" any league is selling. Certainly not a in a league that was struggling financially.

So I adjusted and had several more years in MLS with much better results. Learning along the way, but far smaller "teachable moments."

I have seen one and done referees, or a season and done referees. The "half life" of a referee is much shorter than that of managers, and is accelerated by not only incorrect, but also correct yet unpopular decisions.

Remember Esse Baharmast in the 1998 World Cup? Vilified for his penalty decision in Brasil v. Norway, even after the photo came out of a Brazil player with a fistful of jersey. How was his career impacted by that (correct) decision?

I have cited in the past, Koman Coulibaly, and how he remains in the "FIFA Witness Protection Program" to this day. Never seen since that match at any significant level.

While it is true that referees make decisions that can effect managers jobs, and we need to be sensitive to that, it is also true that referee's jobs are far more fragile on a match to match basis that anyone else who is involved in The Game. Player, General Manager, Manager ... no one.

The very best know that, and react accordingly to every challenge laid down before them.

Now THAT'S Pressure

So I spent part of the day yesterday at the New England Over The Hill Soccer League championships in Lexington MA.

It was a spectacular day for soccer and the atmosphere showed it. There were people everywhere as the whole park was full, and you could hear goal scoring celebrations erupt at various times all afternoon.

In addition to the soccer, there was a very interesting exercise going on with some of the registered assessors. For many of them (myself included) it was a time to meet some of the requirements of the badge, and assess a match ... the same match.

Now this will provide an excellent measurement opportunity for the Mass Ref staff as it will provide a side by side analysis of the very same match. It also gives the Mass Ref staff and excellent opportunity for mentoring its assessors ... as it was designed.

Speaking as an assessor, this is a tremendous opportunity to be able to get some feedback on how I'm doing and how another saw the match. If we go really crazy, we can take the scores, and do a full analysis like mean, median, and standard deviation. This will actually paint a nice picture of just how "differently" we see The Game.

Even beyond that, and in reference to the title, it can be hard enough on a referee knowing there is an assessor out there, never mind a small army of them.

It was actually a funny sight, assessors lining and circling the field like we were in an Official Sports aquarium. You had to see it.

I personally give the referee great credit as it was clear, he saw us circling around during the match and responded well to it.

It is something to consider as an assessor in how a referee is going to react to different stresses we provide them, intentionally or not. Also, for referees, that flows downhill to players. What stress do referees put on players, intentionally or not.

Is there something we can, or should do to lower these tensions?

Green Eggs and Hamm

Mia Hamm voted top female athlete of past 40 years

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2012 - American soccer great Mia Hamm was voted No. 1 in espnW’s Top 40 Female Athletes of the Past 40 Years, beating out No. 2 Martina Navratilova and No. 3 Jackie Joyner-Kersee. espnW, in conjunction with SportsCenter, over an eight-week timeframe, revealed one athlete per day culminating with Hamm on Friday, June 22. The countdown has been part of ESPN’s recognition of the 40th anniversary of Title IX, signed June 23, 1972. It was announced this morning on espnW that Hamm was voted No.1. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of the Washington Times.

Kicking Back Comments: A good choice to be certain. For me personally, I was more in the Michelle Akers camp, but, a good choice. Chris Evert too would have made the tops of my list, but I am picking nits.

One thing I did find curious however, is that all (24) voters were women. That by itself was not curious, but that the vote was taken to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX, designed to end discrimination,  was a bit ironic to me.

Chief Justice Roberts said it best in that "If we want to end ... discrimination, we must stop discriminating ... ." Well ... what a better way to celebrate the ending of discrimination against women (not in sports by the way as the initial legislation targeted education), but by getting votes from a broad base of experts ... of both women and men.

We are not all one trick ponies

Meet more of football’s all-round sportsmen

Four years ago, while Lionel Messi was preparing to light up the FIFA Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008, FIFA.com drew inspiration from the Games and ran a piece on the multi-talented footballers who have managed to pursue professional careers in other sports (see link on the right).

In the meantime, Argentina’s legendary former striker Gabriel Batistuta has taken up polo and ex-France full-back Bixente Lizarazu has become a European champion of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, while stars from other sports have been trying their hand at football, such as 2006 Tour de France winner Oscar Pereiro, who signed for Spanish third division football club Coruxo. ... 

See the full article here, courtesy of FIFA.

Kicking Back Comments: A very good article and a excellent reminder that players, and referees are more than they appear. While we all play roles, we are often much more than the role we play.

... and by the way. Oscar Pereiro was actually 2nd in the 2006 TdF, to American Floyd Landis ... until he flunked several doping tests. (source)

Soccer is bad for your health?

Regularly Hitting Soccer Ball With Head Linked to Memory Problems

Nov. 29, 2011 (Chicago) -- Using your head in soccer may not always be the best thing.

Regularly hitting a soccer ball with your head -- even just a few times a day -- has been linked to traumatic brain injuries, researchers report.

In a preliminary study, 32 amateur soccer players who "headed" the ball more than 1,000 to 1,500 times a year, the equivalent of a few times a day, had abnormalities in areas of the brain responsible for memory, attention, planning, organizing, and vision. ...

See the whole article here, from Web MD, and another here from USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: So riddle me this friends, how can a player reasonably protect themselves from harm from such an issue? Not playing is certainly an obvious answer. How about a helmet?


Can a player wear a helmet?


If some of the Massachusetts legislature had its way, they would. Just take a look here, and more recently here for a far more reasonable approach. 


Really though, can a player wear a helmet under the LOTG?


Well, we are under Law 4, and it is clear that a player, "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player." The interpretations to Law 4 further on make it clear that, "Modern protective equipment such as headgear, ... made of soft, lightweight padded material are not considered dangerous and are therefore permitted."


Very clear indeed. So any type of hard helmet is absolutely out, where something like the F90 Headguard should be allowed without even a second look.


It is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Don't believe me, or the statistics in the captioned articles? Check out this story from Grant Wahl, Concussions take toll in soccer too.

There's an app for that

The other day we spoke about concussion awareness.

One of our readers (Thanks Frenchie) brought forward an app that can help detect a concussion before bringing such a person to a medical professional to evaluate. Please note, no application is a substitute for a qualified medical opinion, except for the EMH program on Star Trek Voyager. But if you have one of those this whole thing is probably a moot point.

Take a peek ... it's free, and it takes up very little space (~9M) on your device.

It can be found here on iTunes.

Concussion Awareness

Kicking Back Comments: It is important for a referee to know the signs of a concussion in the event they run across a player who may have suffered one. Please note, referees are generally not Medical Doctors, and if they are, they can not successfully discharge both duties.

If there is doubt, ANY DOUBT that a player is injured, have them evaluated by a coach or trainer as soon as possible (i.e. stop the game). As I have said before, always err on the side of safety and no one can fault you.

See the good essay below from friend of THE game, and avid blogger, Paul Levy for a perspective from a youth soccer coach.

Really? A Concussion?

This is an essay written by Aub Harden, a fellow Under-14 soccer coach. It has an important message. Concussions are not just the province of professional football players, and they are not always obvious.

It’s Monday morning and we’ve just received a call with the verdict: "Yes, your daughter definitely has a concussion from her soccer game on Saturday."

Really? A concussion? ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Not Running a Hospital

Read and Reflect

U.S. Club Soccer has changed radically in 10 years

This year marks the 10th anniversary of U.S. Club Soccer, which since gaining U.S. Soccer Federation membership in 2001 has served as an alternative to U.S. Youth Soccer. We spoke with U.S. Club Soccer chairman Phil Wright about the past, present and future of the organization that now has member clubs and leagues in 50 states, runs national and state cup competitions, a player identification program (id2) and the girls Elite Clubs National League (ECNL).

SOCCER AMERICA: I’ve heard it said that U.S. Club Soccer’s aim is to drive U.S. Youth Soccer out of business. …

See the whole article here, courtesy of Soccer America.

Kicking Back Comments: So lets think about this for a second ... Here is an excellent example of how THE game has changed over just the last 10 years. Do we as referees believe that we have adapted to that change? Is this change that we as referees need to worry about (e.g. organizational changes for youth soccer)? Has the refereeing organizational world kept up, or exceeded its mandate making sure its population is well cared for?

Granted some goals are different between the two entities, but the root of the question remains ...

Do US Soccer referees get what they need to evolve with THE game?

I Dunno ...

For those who have been following me for a time, you will recognize that I often reflect on scenarios that happen to me when coaching Jr.'s soccer team. Recently we spoke about advantage and injuries in "Stop, Drop, and Roll."

Today's installment involves cautions, and making sure to get something for them.

First, some history:
As some may know, the modern day misconducts were created by Ken Aston. As the story goes slowing and stopping at a traffic light, Mr. Aston created the modern day caution and send off misconducts, a scheme that was first introduced in the 1970 World Cup. For a nice article on the topic, take a look here.

Now our scenario:
During Jr.'s match a player on Jr.'s team committed (in my opinion) a foul. As a result, both players went down in a lump as the opponent was hurt. Kudos to the referee for stopping the match right away to attend to the injury.

After attending to the player, the referee called the player who committed the foul over and seemed to have a word with him, took out his book, and wrote something down. Okay ... that was weird. Maybe the referee was recording the injury.

After this players shift I sat with him on the bench and asked a couple of questions. Here they are with the responses ... keep in mind this is a very young player.

PK: Looks like you got tangled pretty good with that player. Everyone OK?
Teammate of Jr.'s: Yeah, I guess I kicked him in the back of the leg. He's OK.

PK: Did you mean to?
Teammate of Jr.'s: No! (a little shocked) It was an accident.

PK: Did the referee show you a yellow card?
Teammate of Jr.'s: Yes. I dunno why though. He didn't really say.

Friends, foul aside, and wisdom of cautioning a very young player aside (they deserve it sometimes), what concerns me is not even the player receiving the caution themselves knew what was going on.

A caution is a signal that a referee is nearly out of options on how to control a player or the match. Conservation of such punitive actions are hallmarks of exceptional management. That said, there are times that you just have to give the caution. Sometimes the LOTG mandates the misconduct, sometimes THE game needs one to "slow things down" as Ken Aston discovered slowing down for a traffic light.

When a referee gives that caution however, they should be seeking a quid pro quo, and getting something tangible back for showing the caution. It should be a sign to all that the conduct the player demonstrated is not acceptable and will not be tolerated in this match. This should be made clear to the player who committed the act as well as everyone else to the EVERYONE know this was over "the line."

Sometimes we will see referees providing some theater to make the point by pointing to several points of the field to indicate a persistent infringement caution, or maybe placing their hand over their mouth for dissent. All of this acting is to let not just the offending player know, but all players in the park, and for that matter everyone watching, no more of that!

Once everyone is on notice, it becomes much easier to take additional actions if another player performs the same act, or the same player persists.

If the player who received the caution does not know what it is for, how can we expect to get the right reaction from the players to stop that type of behavior?

We all know the answer. We can't.

When you caution, get something for it, and make sure everyone, EVERYONE, knows it happened, and the behavior is not acceptable.

With that, you get something back for your effort.

Stop, Drop, and Roll

So last week Jr. had an indoor soccer match and I saw something that gave me a great moment to reflect that I wanted to share.

Often referees pride themselves in the use of “advantage”, as when it is applied correctly, it can be a beautiful thing. When it is applied poorly however, it can lead to horrible results. This brief escapade is about the latter.

In the second half of a match, with the score within a goal, a teammate of Jr.’s was hit with a shot in the head, and went down in a lump crying, with Jr.’s team retaining the ball. Approximately 15 seconds later, Jr.’s team scored a goal.

After the goal, the coach of Jr.’s team rushed out to tend to the player and I, as the dutiful assistant, readied a substitute. After some inspection, Jr.’s teammate was not badly hurt, but was visibly shaken and had a “mouse” under his left eye to show for his tangle with the ball.

While happy that a player was not hurt, I was also very unhappy about the referee letting the play go on with a player, any player, a U-10 player, lying in a lump holding his head from an obvious injury.

As I tended to the players injuries, I found myself in some conflict.

Early on in my career I had done the same thing on several occasions. I made the choice that a player’s injury was not severe enough to warrant stopping the match for them. After all, this is right in the LOTG in Law 5. Right?

Yes it is in the LOTG, but age and experience has taught me a couple of things.

First, allowing play to continue while a player is injured in NOT invoking the advantage clause. It is simply not stopping play. The advantage clause is specifically used when a foul is committed, and by the referee stopping play they will give an advantage to the team that committed the foul. In such a case, invoking the advantage clause is an appropriate thing to do. In fact, with somewhat recent law changes, if the advantage does not materialize, the referee can even reverse themselves and stop play to give the foul.

Second, players’ safety needs to come first always. That is for full international matches all the way down to U-10 local leagues. If the players do not believe they are safe, they will take matters into their own hands to protect themselves and their interests. Now, that pendulum swings based on things like age, competition, level of play, and referee ability.

A referee should be more apt to stop play immediately for young players that have sustained an obvious injury in a vital area, such as their head. Conversely, a referee should be more apt to allow play to continue for experienced players (not older necessarily) that have sustained a minor injury in a non-vital area, such as an ankle.

In that middle ground, this may not be so easy to judge. It is also always important to remember that generally referees are not Medical Doctors, and even if they are, they cannot effectively discharge both duties simultaneously. In all cases however, err on the side of safety, and you as referee cannot be legitimately criticized for keeping the welfare of the players first.

Without the players, there is no game, and for a referee to be as prideful as to desire a great call, over the safety of the players can, and does, lead to disaster. If there is doubt, stop the play, everyone will (eventually) thank you for it, especially the injured player who needed the help.

Embrace the chaos

There are times in my recent refereeing past, and times in my current assessing present, and instructional future where I sought (or seek) to understand the style of play the teams are going to employ for the day to calculate possible problem areas.

For example, and please note I am overgeneralizing here, if I had a South American styled team, I would expect more individual ball possession than a Western European team which would likely provide long ball from the back 1/3 to the front 1/3. This combination at times could be problematic at these competing styles clashed.

More homogeneous styled teams would lead to a more balanced approach in play style and consequently, refereeing style.

So what style do US players have, and how does a referee react to them when faced with a more classic style as that listed above?

This article is intended to comment on the first part of the question only as the second part will take up volumes of a book I am currently contemplating and would certainly leak parts here from.

For those who did not know Claudio Reyna has been named the Youth Technical Director for U.S. Soccer recently and has been charged with figuring out this very question. What style does the US play?

In this article from ESPN, Reyna is suggesting to publish a curriculum to begin to standardize some common elements that the US Youth can work on. On the surface this may make some sense, but it certainly has its flaws ... and critics. From the article (sic):

"A curriculum's not going to make us any better," Arena said. "If that was the case, we'd all publish curriculums. This country, I've always said, is too large, too different to have one style of play. If he [Reyna] can get that accomplished, more credit to him."

 And from Steve Nicol who is never at a loss for words ...

"It depends on what you mean by 'try to establish a style of play,'" said New England coach Steve Nicol, the Liverpool legend who has mastered the art of scouting and developing players from college campuses. "We all want to pass the ball, and we all want to play good, open attacking football. If we can develop players to have that ability, the style will evolve on its own. What we'll have is players who can play the game properly."

So it would seem that Claudio has his work cut out for him.

On the other side of the flipping coin there are (2) issues.

First, what does a US referee do in such a case where players do not have a defined style?

My brief answer is study the individual team, and coach, and frankly be ready for anything. At the end of the day all the preparation in the world can be destroyed by a random event or player that is having a real terrible day. After all, all of us are not only involved in THE game, but also in the greater game of life and stuff happens in life that can disrupt those "expected" patters of how a match should play out on paper.

Second is in the form of a question. As the citizens of the US are culturally diverse, and among them are not only players but referees, how does US Soccer remedy this issue among its referees, who like its players, may be seeing THE game through their cultural identity, in a search for consistency among its referees?

Players have Claudio fighting the fight ...

Interesting timing indeed

Jeff Kassouf the other day penned U.S. Soccer focuses on player development in the women's game, a good quick read.

In it he describes how US Soccer has a renewed focus on the womens game likely caused from some of the recent stumbles from the U-17 and U-20 teams.

Best line in the article for me was:

When USSF president Sunil Gulati officially appointed the two women to the newly created positions on Jan. 6 he said that the appointments are not reactionary, but have been in the works for some time. If that is the case -- as overly coincidental as the timing may be -- the changes could not come at a more necessary time.

I don't know how these could not be anything but reactionary given the recent progress of the women's game. Yet I concede the possibility exists.

Flip to the comments from Neil Beuthe, communications director for US Soccer on women referees. Is this reactionary, due to some pressure being heaped on US Soccer for not having women referees in men's professional games, or a Title 9 issue rearing its head?

While it would not seem to be the case, my hope is this is a tandem effort from US Soccer and there is concert between the players side and the referee side. One can not exist without the other, despite what both may think.

In my experience this is rarely the case and the two are on separate tracks regarding development, and at times necessarily so. There are a few shining stars however as at the higher levels there is a clear recognition that it is more than a peaceful coexistence that the two need, it is shared cooperation and vision of how THE game is played and managed.

We are all one big, happy, and at times, dysfunctional family. The more we can learn from each other, the better off we are.

Check Those Nets!!

Back in June of 2010 I went on a mini-rant about net safety and the deadly consequences it can have.

While not in the context of a match apparently, a 4th grader from Arkansas was killed when a falling soccer goal crushed his skull. Further details on this story are reported here.

While by itself this represents a horrible tragedy, it serves as another reminder to check those nets as the spring season begins as it really can save a life.

For me personally it gives even greater pause as Jr. is currently in 4th grade and is often found on various soccer fields. You can bet, I will check the nets myself, acting in an official capacity or just as a parent.

Hijo got the Benzo

Our little friend to the left here, benzodiazepine, is a psychoactive drug.

In gardening vernacular, it gets into your squash and affects your central nervous system. It is a sedative and anti-anxiety drug.

The first benzodiazepine, chlordiazepoxide (Librium), was discovered accidentally by Leo Sternbach in 1955, and made available in 1960 by Hoffmann–La Roche, which has also marketed diazepam (Valium) since 1963 ... or so says Wikipedia.

No, I am not engineer, turned lawyer (almost), turned pharmacist. This is the latest drama to unfold in front of our eyes at a 2nd division soccer match in Peru.

Seems that an unidentified member of Sport Ancash’s coaching staff has been accused of giving players from opposing team Hijos de Acosvinchos water laced with Benzo. This after four of them passed out in the waning moments of their Peruvian second-division game.

Seeing is believing, so look at the article and video here.

Seeking comments after the match, reporters asked Sport Ancash President José Mallaqui how the opposing players wound up with benzo in their bloodstream.

In confirming the hospital results, Mallaqui said to generaccion.com, and I quote:

“I was able to find out that the players ate rotisserie chicken and had some energy drinks before the game, which ended up hurting them ...".

KFC and Red Bull caused this?

Wow. 

Best part of the whole thing was that Sporting Ancash still lost the game 3-0.

Then and Now

From an earlier post I opined that the route the modern referee takes is very different from the way a previous generation referee was trained.

[Editor note: I dare not say "older referee" as (1) I am turning into one before my very eyes, and (2) there are some of these legendary referees who read this blog and would not hesitate to take me out to the woodshed should I use that term =)]

While referees in how they are brought up through the ranks has changed, what about the game?

Well here is a very interesting article that opines that some older legendary players, would not have made it in todays game as to some the game in turning into a non-contact sport.

Harris: Moore would incur modern refs' wrath

LONDON - Even England's 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, who turned tackling into an art form, would fall foul of modern referees, former Chelsea defender Ron Harris said on Tuesday.

"Bobby was the greatest tackler there was but if he had been playing today he would have been getting cards all over the place, week in week out," Harris, whose uncompromising approach in the 1970s earned him the nickname "Chopper", told Reuters in an interview. ...

The full article is here, and provides an interesting opinion about where the game may be going, courtesy of fourfourtwo.com.