Serie A referee Marco Serra dismissed ahead of new season

Serie A referee Marco Serra dismissed ahead of new season

Marco Serra has been dismissed from the list of referees for next season’s Serie A and B after a series of scandals involving AS Roma, Jose Mourinho, and AC Milan. While Marco Serra will be turning 41 in September and is still within the age limit of refereeing, he’s been dismissed by the AIA (Italian Referees Association) for ‘justified technical reasons’.

Serie A referee Marco Serra dismissed ahead of new season

Serie A referee, Marco Serra. Source: Getty This comes after numerous problems, the most dramatic of which include blowing the whistle for a Milan foul rather than giving the advantage, meaning that the Junior Messias goal against Spezia could not be allowed even with the intervention of VAR. To make matters worse, moments later Spezia ran up the other end and scored the winning goal. Serra was in the headlines again last season as a fourth official when he got into a row with Roma coach Mourinho on the touchline during a game with Cremonese. Mourinho was sent off, but furiously insisted he had been insulted by Serra. Although the disciplinary commission did find Serra had been ‘unprofessional’ in his behaviour with Mourinho, he avoided punishment at the time due to the late filing of paperwork, while the coach was handed a two-match touchline ban.

Serie A referee Marco Serra dismissed ahead of new season

Jose Mourinho confronting Marco Serra. Source: Getty Mourinho had threatened to take legal action against Serra claiming he had said something “unjustifiable”. AS Roma finished the season in sixth place, securing another Europa League berth, while Cremonese finished with five wins, but were unable to climb any higher than 19th in the Serie A table, confirming their relegation for the new season. The recent dismissal is a rare victory for Mourinho, whose antics on the bench last season means he will serve both domestic and European touchline bans after his three red cards in Serie A and his taunting of Anthony Taylor in the Europa League final.

Bundesliga referee admits error after officiating match between Dortmund and VfL Bochum

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Bundesliga referee admits error after officiating match between Dortmund and VfL Bochum Bundesliga referee Sascha Stegemann has admitted to making an error while officiating a match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Bochum. Though Borussia Dortmund came into the game seeking to extend its lead on the Bundesliga table, the match ended in a draw as Stegemann refused to award a clear penalty to Dortmund in the 65th minute. Video Assistant Referee, Robert Hartmann also agreed with the on-field decision.  Bundesliga referee admits error after officiating match between Dortmund and VfL Bochum Acknowledging the error during an interview with WDR 2 on Saturday, April 29, Stegemann said; “I’m extremely annoyed, I feel like sh*t. It was a very, very short night [of sleep], I’m not fine with it. You get up with a bad feeling because you’re angry that you didn’t make the right decision in a scene.  Bundesliga referee admits error after officiating match between Dortmund and VfL Bochum “Looking at it, it’s a penalty in the situation with Adeyemi for BVB,” he conceded. “I didn’t see it that way on the pitch. As a referee, I have the right to solve the scene on the pitch without using the video assistant unnecessarily.” Should Bayern Munich win its match against Hertha BSC on Sunday, April 30, it would move two points above current first-place Dortmund.

Mikel Arteta fumes at referee Andy Madley for not awarding two ‘scandalous penalties’ to Arsenal

Mikel Arteta fumes at referee Andy Madley for not awarding two 'scandalous penalties' to Arsenal

On Tuesday night, Arsenal was held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle at the Emirates stadium in London.
Mikel Arteta fumes at referee Andy Madley for not awarding two 'scandalous penalties' to Arsenal
Speaking after the match, Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta who highlighted how Newcastle’s coach, Eddie Howe adapted his game plan to match that of his team, also lashed out at referee Andy Madley for not awarding two ‘scandalous penalties’ to the London-based club.
Arteta said;
“There were two penalties. It’s very simple. I’m talking about what I’ve seen. It was two scandalous penalties. Newcastle wanted to set-up like this. It is not the way they play. They have not set-up like this against anyone else.
Mikel Arteta fumes at referee Andy Madley for not awarding two 'scandalous penalties' to Arsenal
“When you cannot win you cannot lose and we kept a clean sheet and had a really good performance. Now we go again. We should have done some things better in the final third and we should have had two penalties to win the game.”

World Cup final referee responds to criticism that trailed Lionel Messi’s extra-time goal

World Cup final referee responds to criticism that trailed Lionel Messi's extra-time goal

World Cup final referee responds to criticism that trailed Lionel Messi's extra-time goal

Szymon Marciniak, the Polish referee who officiated the 2022 World Cup final has responded to claims that Lionel Messi’s extra-time goal should have been disallowed.
World Cup final referee responds to claims that Lionel Messi's extra-time goal should have been disallowed
Recall that Messi’s goal gave Argentina a 3-2 lead during extra time before Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty for France. The match proceeded to a penalty shootout which Argentina won 4-2.
Days after the conclusion of the tournament, the French media stated that Argentina’s third goal should have been disallowed due to the encroachment of substitutes on the pitch.
World Cup final referee responds to claims that Lionel Messi's extra-time goal should have been disallowed
Responding to the claim during a press conference yesterday, December 23, Marciniak held up a photo that showed that French players were also guilty of the same when Mbappe converted a penalty they were awarded.
He said;
“The French didn’t mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappe scores a goal.”

Szymon Marciniak, the referee for the World Cup Final, has responded to @lequipe’s criticism that Lionel Messi’s second goal shouldn’t have counted:
“The French didn’t mention this photo, where you can see how there are seven Frenchmen on the pitch when Mbappé scores a goal.” pic.twitter.com/MW6y73iiLN
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) December 23, 2022

FIFA blocked English referee from officiating the 2022 World Cup final

FIFA blocked English referee from officiating the 2022 World Cup final

FIFA blocked English referee from officiating the 2022 World Cup final
FIFA reportedly denied English referee, Anthony Taylor, the chance to officiate the World Cup final on Sunday, December 19, over fears of Argentina questioning his impartiality.

While it’s been announced that Poland’s Szymon Marciniak will oversee the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium, it’s been gathered that Taylor was never in contention to land the match over concerns of an English official officiating an Argentina game.
Before Argentina qualified for the final, Taylor was kept on in Qatar by FIFA when the likes of Michael Oliver returned home.
The Times reported that though there are no suggestions that Taylor might be influenced by his nationality, neutrality is however a top priority for FIFA.

FIFA blocked English referee from officiating the 2022 World Cup final

English referees have been barred from taking charge of matches featuring Argentina due to fears of bias around the Falkland Islands.
The Falklands War may have taken place way back in 1982, but it remains a hot topic in Argentina. The Falklands have been a British crown colony since 1841, but the sovereignty of the territory in the South Atlantic remains disputed by Argentina, who sparked a war with Britain by invading.
Argentina made headlines after their 3-0 win over Croatia in the semi-final by singing a popular song, called Muchachos, which references the Falklands War. The song includes a line about the “f***ing English” and a reference to the Malvinas, the Argentine name of the Falkland Islands.
The song has been commonplace among Argentina’s fans in Qatar and was reportedly the most-played song on Spotify in the South American country this week.

FIFA blocked English referee from officiating the 2022 World Cup final

Had Taylor landed the World Cup final, he would have been the first English referee to do so since 2010, when Howard Webb officiated Spain vs. Netherlands.

But he lost out to Marciniak who will be joined by fellow Polish officials Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz as assistant referees.

The 41-year-old is the first Poland native to be handed the job of refereeing the World Cup final.

He’s a disaster – Modric slams referee who officiated semi-final match between Croatia and Argentina

He's a disaster - Modric slams referee who officiated semi-final match between Croatia and Argentina

He's a disaster - Modric slams referee who officiated semi-final match between Croatia and Argentina

He's a disaster - Modric slams referee who officiated semi-final match between Croatia and Argentina
Luka Modric who is featuring in his last World Cup tournament for Croatia following the match against Argentina last night has lashed out at the referee who officiated the game.

He described the performance of Italian referee, Daniele Orsato, who officiated the semi-final match which ended 3-0 in favor of the South American team as a “disaster”.
Modric admitted that Argentina was the better side but said Orsato shouldn’t have awarded the penalty which Lionel Messi converted.
He said;
“Argentina was a fair winner of the match, they were better, and they deserved to win, but these things have to be mentioned, I generally don’t do them, but today they have to be done.
He's a disaster - Modric slams referee who officiated semi-final match between Croatia and Argentina
”I don’t like to talk about referees, but this is one of the worst. I don’t have a good memory of [Orsato], he’s a disaster. For me, it wasn’t a penalty.
”Despite this, I don’t want to detract from Argentina. The penalty killed us. We have to recover for third place and win that match.”
Modric also wished Messi good luck in the World Cup final which would be played on Sunday, December 19.
He added;
”Congratulations and I wish good luck in the final to Messi. He is having an amazing tournament and he’s showing his greatness and quality”