referees Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Messi On Copa América: "I Think The Cup Is Fixed For Brazil"
Despite the absence of Lionel Messi, and being down to 10 men on the field, Argentina were able to hold off Chile in the Copa América third place game with a 2-1 victory to take home bronze in the tournament. However, the Argentinian superstar was noticeably absent from the ensuing medal ceremony, d...

Lionel Messi Goes Off On "Bullshit" Refereeing After Argentina Lose To Brazil
VAR has been a disaster at the Copa América this summer, and last night’s Brazil-Argentina semifinal was no different. And as evidenced by his scathing postgame comments slamming VAR and the refereeing in general after his team fell to Brazil, Lionel Messi is fed the fuck up with it....

NBA Set To Add Coach's Challenges To Review System Next Season
According to a memo reportedly sent Friday morning, the NBA will be experimenting with adding a coach’s challenge to its current replay review system. The trial will begin with summer league basketball next month, but the league “anticipates using the rule during the 2019-20 regular season as part o...

Texas High School Referee Who Was Very Racist On A Phone Call Defends Himself As A "Jokester" Who Watches BET
The Texas Association of Sports Officials has suspended a longtime high school football referee for the 2019 season after audio surfaced of him being racist on a phone call. We’re talking “hard-R” racist....

78 Seconds Of Batshit Argentine Soccer Features Violent Tackles, Tears, Unconscionable Flopping
Argentine soccer is plagued by a bullshit macho culture where the biggest sin is losing and the biggest virtue is lunging about, heedlessly throwing your body into as many opponents as possible to prove how large your testicles are. For a short clip demonstrating the anarchic, violent, dive-y style ...

Soccer Referee Dies After Suffering Heart Attack During A Match In Bolivia
Víctor Hugo Hurtado was refereeing Sunday’s Bolivian first division match between Always Ready and Oriente Petrolero when he collapsed on the pitch midgame due to a reported heart attack. Stadium support staff took Hurtado to a local hospital, where the 31-year-old suffered another heart attack and ...

Well, Here's Another Type Of Call That Needs To Be Reviewable Now
The Boston Bruins can’t be too bent out of shape about it, because they still ended up beating the Blue Jackets 4-1 to even the series at two-all. But they did get their shutout ruined by a goal that shouldn’t have counted, and now we have another video review controversy in the NHL....

The Rockets Are Only Embarrassing Themselves
It’s not enough that the Houston Rockets have to whine that they lost Game 1 because the refs didn’t take their signature gaming of the “landing zone” rule as seriously as usual. They elected to follow that snit with what is perhaps the most pathetically lame sports media leak of all time, as ESPN m...

Vegas Says NHL Apologized For Game 7's Bad Call, And Those Referees Won't Work The Next Round
The San Jose Sharks are in the second round of the playoffs, and it’s mostly because of a third-period Cody Eakin major penalty. In the Golden Knights–Sharks Game 7 on Tuesday, Eakin crossed-checked Sharks forward Joe Pavelski on a face-off with Vegas leading 3-0 and 10 minutes remaining. Pavelski h...

Gregg Popovich Gets Himself Ejected Just 63 Seconds Into Spurs Game
Spurs head coach and noted curmudgeon Gregg Popovich must’ve had someplace else he needed to be Wednesday night. At the 10:57 mark of the first quarter of his team’s game against the Denver Nuggets—just 63 seconds after tipoff—Popovich was hit with a double-technical and ejected....
![Steph Curry Taunts Ref After Incredible Buzzer-Beating Three, Warriors Lose Seconds Later On Weird Foul [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/zlmwgy6hu2h3iaph1si7.jpg)
Steph Curry Taunts Ref After Incredible Buzzer-Beating Three, Warriors Lose Seconds Later On Weird Foul [Update]
After the Warriors leapt out to a 19-point third-quarter lead against the Wolves tonight, Minnesota responded with a nutty 50-22 run, only to falter at the end of regulation. That was probably fine for fans, since the game had been an entertaining back-and-forth contest, and five minutes of free bas...

High School Wrestling Ref Who Forced Teen To Cut His Dreadlocks Preparing To Sue For "Emotional Distress"
The New Jersey high school wrestling referee, who forced a teen to cut his dreadlocks or forfeit a wrestling match in December, has begun the process of filing a lawsuit, claiming that he suffered “emotional distress” and “defamation of character” in the aftermath of the incident, according to The I...

Paul George Believes The Thunder "Haven’t Gotten A Fair Whistle All Year"<em></em>
The Thunder accomplished a rare feat in their 118-110 loss to the Clippers on Friday that they probably won’t think fondly of when the season finally ends for them. For the second time in the past 10 seasons, three starters fouled out before the end of regulation: Paul George, Russell Westbrook and ...

Jay Glazer Has An Idea For Making NFL Officiating Infinitely Dumber
Crappy NFL officiating marred the end of last season and sent the entire New Orleans metropolitan region into a massive collective freakout that may or may not continue to this very day. The current sorry state of refereeing is the culmination of years of NFL football becoming progressively harder t...

The "180" Call Turned Darts Into A True Spectacle And Became One Of The Best Sounds In Sports<em></em>
Watch enough professional darts competitions, and you will be treated to one of the most iconic calls in sports: “OOOONE-HUUUUNDRED-AND-EIIIIIGHTEE!” The call, shouted by referees around the world, tends to follow a similar cadence and inflection: starting as a bass-rattling bellow, soaring in pitch...

DeMarcus Cousins Hit With Really Dumb Technical Foul For Hurling Opponent's Shoe Into Crowd
DeMarcus Cousins has received many technical fouls in his career, and the majority of them have been well-earned. This one, from Monday night’s Warriors win over the Hornets, was 100 percent, Grade-A bologna. Cousins, checking Cody Zeller away from the ball and out near the arc, noticed Jeremy Lamb’...

DeMarcus Cousins Hit With Really Dumb Technical Foul For Hurling Opponent's Shoe Into Crowd
DeMarcus Cousins has received many technical fouls in his career, and the majority of them have been well-earned. This one, from Monday night’s Warriors win over the Hornets, was 100 percent, Grade-A bologna. Cousins, checking Cody Zeller away from the ball and out near the arc, noticed Jeremy Lamb’...

NBA Officiating Sucks, But Not For The Reason Chris Paul Thinks It Does
The Houston Rockets think veteran referee Scott Foster is being mean to them, which is not new. Lots of teams have thought that about Foster over the years, (a) because he is under-burdened by the onus of player relations skills, and (b) because he isn’t easily bullied. Many teams would love to be a...

The Notoriously Rule-Bending Rockets Whined About The Refs In Their Loss To The Lakers
No NBA team has less of a right to complain about refereeing than the Houston Rockets, given how its two biggest stars have bought property in the gray areas of the rulebook. Chris Paul is a notorious flopper and instigator, while James Harden is James Harden, flailing his way to the line a million...

NBA Refs Defend Bradley Beal's Comical, Insanely Obvious Travel
Late in the Wizards’ loss to the Pistons on Monday night, Bradley Beal took it to the rim. He gathered the ball, took his usual two steps, saw an enormous Blake Griffin looming in his airspace, and then ... just kept walking. As one does. Blake’s face on the replay says it all....