Bosnia-Hercegovina v Portugal referee preview

It seems this blog has turned into the "Howard Webb" fan page with our coverage of the World Cup final merging into tonight's qualifiers. But over a year since his height on the football stage, Webb returns to overseeing international knock-out football with the third meeting of these two sides in the playoffs.
Latest More News
Relaunch of referees blog
The refereeing blog will be relaunching this week, bigger and better than ever. We'll have full coverage of the playoffs for Euro 2012 with increased fan interaction and interviews.
We'll also be covering the rest of the club season from the refereeing point of view including the most controversial and unique incidents. There ... [read more]
Travel to Dublin for the Nations Cup
In the olden days of international football, there weren't 200+ national teams kicking the ball around - there were only the Home Nations. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were the combatants in the first real international football tournament - the Home Nations Tournament - which was held annually for 100 years, from 1884 to 1984. Ever since, these ... [read more]
Travel to Panama for the Copa Centroamericana
The Copa Centroamericana may not be the most well-known international tournament around, but for the seven FIFA countries of Central America, it's a very big deal. Not only are bragging rights at stake, but the top five sides earn places in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. When your region only has seven teams, and five qualify, no one ... [read more]
Travel to Doha for the Asian Cup
The Asian Cup is about to begin and if you support one of the 16 teams involved, this is the next best thing to a World Cup. It may seem too late to book your flight to Doha for the Cup, but it is always worth checking the prices. If your team makes the knockout rounds, you won't ... [read more]
Howard Webb honoured by the Queen for services to refereeing
World Cup final referee Howard Webb has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Years Honours List with an MBE. ... [read more]
Travel to Russia for the Euro 2012 Qualifiers
Russia was gutted to barely miss out on qualifying for World Cup 2010, and a lot of neutrals were disappointed too. The likes of Andrei Arshavin, Pavel Pogrebnyak and more would be missed in South Africa. Now, the Russians are back to make sure that they won't go missing from another major tournament. If you have been ... [read more]
Travel to Turkey for the Euro 2012 Qualifiers
Turkey was the most exciting team of the tournament at Euro 2008, and now they're looking to return to the European Championships and make waves once again. After the disappointment of not qualifying for World Cup 2010, legendary manager Guus Hiddink is in charge to make sure Turkey doesn't miss out on another major tournament. It's an exciting ... [read more]
Travel to Germany for the Euro 2012 Qualifiers
Now that World Cup 2010 is done and dusted, and we've started off the major European leagues, it's time to start thinking about the next major international tournament - Euro 2012. Germany comes to the Euro qualifiers fresh off of a third-place finish in South Africa, and a performance that showed off their amazing young talent. With these ... [read more]
Tournament stats - cards, controversy and Keisuke Honda
So after a tournament filled with plenty of talking point, we look back at the lies, damn lies and statistics. Who was the dirtiest player or the cleanest match? The cover this and more, let's crunch the numbers from South Africa 2010.
... [read more]
Van Marwijk chides Webb for refereeing performance
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk has bashed official Howard Webb for his display in last night's final, and has been joined by some of his player's in questioning the Englishman's decisions in the game.
... [read more]
Club Football News
Video: Andy Carroll v. Tottenham
It may not have been a man of the match-calibre performance, as those honours would have to have gone to one of the defenders—and probably either Glen Johnson or Martin Skrtel. And he likely didn't even have as good a game as his previous two against Wolverhampton and Manchester United. ...
"Napoli Want to Win the Trophy"
Napoli's semi-final opponents Siena are in a Serie A relegation battle and will probably rest some starters in Thursday's Coppa Italia clash. Napoli's path to the final is simply a matter of breaking down a team that will stick 10 men behind the ball. Sounds pretty easy but ...
Former youth team player offers refreshing take on Terry
You may or may not have seen this earlier today. I retweeted it via @JoeTweeds a few hours ago. Either way, it's a very good read and a refreshingly different take on John Terry than the ones we've been force-fed over the past few months. No, he's not a monster. Sorry, ...
Samsunspor Team Bus Meets Train
What do you say to this? Holy @#$%. Incredibly, everyone from Samsunspor - Turkish Super Lig - survived and the team bus is the only thing which netted catastrophic damage. And as evident from the video, no signs/warnings appeared that, ya know, a train was steaming in. Someone's likely to see a change ...
Adriano Gets Quarantined For Fatness
Adriano is both one of the most gifted strikers of his generation and one of the most disappointing, ballooning to Ronaldo's late-career playing weight right smack in the middle of his prime, among other, non-gravitational-field-related issues (drinking, partying, shooting people, etc). Now at Corinthians and fresh off an Achilles injury ...
England's Once Brave Loses Umbro, and Capello
Not exactly a great week if you're John Terry. More, after the jump: Kicks for sale So if you're keeping score at home, that's Social Media Neophytes/Journo Hacks/Chelsea Naysayers 3, John Terry 0. First he lost the armband, which, in fairness many of us accepted with relative understanding. Sure, due process matters ...
Match Day Chat Box: FC Bayern vs. VfB Stuttgart (Updated - 2-0 to Bayern, w/Video)
FC Bayern’s DFB Pokal quarter-final kicks off in less than an hour. Hertha Berlin and Monchengladbach are currently level at 0 apiece, while SPVGG Greuther Fürth holds an improbable 1-0 lead over 10-man Hoffenheim. In our match, line-ups have been announced, and Basler’s advice has been taken. For Bayern: Gomez Ribery - Kroos ...
Excellence In Futility
The set-and-finish own goal is one of extreme rarity, such that it should have its own show on some science channel. To deflect a ball into the net is one thing, but a composed boot, if shanked? That's truly special stuff. The gentleman in question is Ashraf Soliman of Maccabi Umm ...
Your Regularly Scheduled Pre-United Madhouse, and Other Wednesday Notes
Luis Suarez has been back in action for twenty-five minutes, and he's already lucky he hasn't been banned two or four or seventeen more times. In related news, the buildup to a match against Manchester United is always so very much fun… * In amongst all the excitement over Kenny Dalglish ...
Let's Try This Again, Swamp Edition
Catania 1 - Roma 1, 64' I'm going to throw a fit: this is stupid. Because, and if only because, teasing us with 30 minutes of Roma just isn't cool. How am I supposed to go on and enjoy the rest of my evening when I can't see Gabriel Heinze finally ...
Game Time Thread: Coppa Italia Semis, Leg 1 — Juventus vs. Milan
Remember the last time these two teams played one another? It was a few months back and a lot has happened since then, so in case you forgot, here's a short recap: That was fun. I believe the best way the game was described was courtesy of Sky Italia, calling Juve "possessed." I would ...
Coupe de France, Lyon vs Bordeaux : cold outside, hot inside
However busy Gerland gardeners may have been to ensure this game would not be cancelled due to the current cold wave striking in Europe, the French football authorities tried to get a few more degrees in anticipating it to 4.15 PM instead of 9PM, in the hope that a few ...
Profits before people... Can I get a mic check?
If there's one thing I've learned from the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's that all the protests in the world (bin bags, black scarves, etc) mean nothing in the face of the capitalist juggernaut. Yesterday Arsene Wenger went on record saying that rather than buying Eden Hazard for 30 million ...
Calling upon the Camp Nou Gods & Cats: Barca VS Valencia CDR Preview
[caption id="attachment_7549" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="Camp Nou Cats in Motion"][/caption] As a Barca fan, 2012 has not been the kindest so far. Looking around at my fellow Cules, there’s a sense of despair, agony, misery, and disbelief. A player scores 23 goals in 20 games and he’s in crisis? A squad close ...
Juventus 0-0 Siena: Conte's Men Can't Unlock Former Side
You can't say that was unexpected. A side that was just out of the relegation zone played tremendously organized, compact, and defensive football and got a point at the shiny Agnelli Arena (it's what I like to call the unimaginatively-named Juventus Stadium, for kicks). For 85 minutes our Bianconeri couldn't ...
Dalglish on Suarez' Return Blown Out of Proportion, News at 11
"We don’t think he should ever have been away but we are delighted to get him back," Kenny Dalglish said when asked about the return of Luis Suarez following Monday's match against Tottenham. The response from the papers was immediate—and exactly what one would have guessed it would be. "Kenny Dalglish ...
Athletic 6 Mirandés 2 (8-3 on agg): In the final!
Bielsa's Lions booked their place in the Copa del Rey final after a goal-laden match. In the last semi-final three years ago, Athletic were very quick out of the blocks and soon raced into a three goal lead and the same thing happened tonight. After just 11 minutes Muniain opened the scoring ...
Preview: FC Bayern vs. VfB Stuttgart
In the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal. BVB just finished off Holstein Kiel 4-0, meaning they’ll be into the semi-finals. FC Bayern’s match is the last of 3 that take place tomorrow, and will be broadcast live in North American in ESPN 3. The match kicks off at 8:30 PM ...
Charlie Adam, Holding Midfielder
For many, there has been a belief that in order to get the most out of Charlie Adam he must be played as part of a three-man midfield, alongside players who will be able to cover for his shortcomings and in doing so allow him to do what he does ...



