Referees have been given public speaking lessons ahead of the new season – and the arrival of explanations to the crowd at Premier League matches.
Inside Sport understands a number of broadcasters have been brought in by refs’ body PGMOL to train officials on how to speak with clarity in high-pressure environments and in front of big audiences.
Premier League refs will now make in-stadium announcements following VAR decisions aside from offsides, given there is little need for explanation.
The move is the latest from PGMOL, and another common-sense step under boss Howard Webb.
Premier League refs will now make in-stadium announcements following VAR decisions
Inside Sport understands a number of broadcasters have been brought in by refs’ body PGMOL to train officials on how to speak with clarity
Controversial deadline set to stay
UEFA’s March 1 deadline – which eventually played a key role in Crystal Palace’s demotion from the Europa League – would appear to be here to stay.
The Eagles now infamously failed to submit the necessary documentation which would have seen them comply with UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership by the cut-off point, which was brought forward from June.
Few could have imagined on March 1 that Palace would have got anywhere near a European place, but it is understood that UEFA intend to stick with the date, with approval expected at executive committee meetings in either September or December. A head scratching approach.
Lineker still front and centre
His Match of the Day departure was one of the major stories of the year, but those attempting to watch the iconic show for the first time via Sky may have not noticed that Gary Lineker had left the BBC.
The Sky page for the programme, which allows viewers to record either an episode or an entire series, featured a big picture of none other than Lineker himself.
The BBC are understood to have had a quiet word with their counterparts at Sky, who had also spotted the blunder which was put down to ‘technical mistake’.
Lineker’s image was subsequently removed. Mark Chapman took the reins for opening night, concluding a mammoth day on which he presented Radio 5 Live’s coverage. He is sharing the role with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan.
The Sky page for Match of the Day featured a big picture of none other than Gary Lineker despite his exit from the programme at the end of last season
Boast’s penalty blunder
Some early season humour courtesy of Tottenham starlet Oliver Boast. The youngster won, took and scored a penalty for the club’s Under 18s on Saturday morning.
However, there was a slight issue – the whistle he had heard to take the spot-kick was actually blown by the referee in the Under 16s match on the pitch next door.
His own game’s ref was none-too-impressed and ordered a retake, which Boast subsequently missed. His blushes were spared however, when team-mate Armend Muslika grabbed a 95th minute equaliser to grab a 2-2 draw with Reading.
Tottenham youngster Oliver Boast was made to re-take his penalty after mistaking the referee’s whistle from a nearby pitch for the official in charge of Spurs’ Under 18 match
Former Bees chairman passes away
Dan Tana who, among (many) other things, was once the Brentford chairman, has passed away at the age of 90.
A sometimes actor, former footballer and ex maitre d’, he opened Dan Tana’s restaurant in West Hollywood in 1964, which would go on to become a Los Angeles institution and regular haunt for some of film’s biggest names.
Tana was born in Yugoslavia and played in his homeland, Germany and Canada before helping to form the first professional league in the United States.
He invested at Griffin Park in 1973, at time when the Bees where bottom of the Fourth Division. Tana, who became a well-known figure within the game, remained on the board until 2002.
Dan Tana (middle) was born in Yugoslavia and played in his homeland, Germany and Canada before helping to form the first professional league in the US
Olympics bosses back member
Olympics bosses have launched a staunch defence of a senior IOC member accused of multiple conflicts of interest. Singapore’s Ser Miang Ng, 76, found himself at the centre of an expose by The Inquisitor, which centred around his links to the esports industry, Saudi Arabia and Olympic federations and suggested corruption may be at play.
Ng is chairman of the Olympics Esports Games Steering Committee which decided to host the first Esports Games in 2027 in Riyadh.
He is also chairman of the joint IOC and Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee for those Games. The Global Esports Federation, based in Singapore, has a board which includes his son. They are part of an Esports Leadership Group, of which Ng is chairman. And so it goes on and on.
Ser Miang Ng (left) is chairman of the Olympics Esports Games Steering Committee which decided to host the first Esports Games in 2027 in Riyadh
However, in a message to members of no less than 677 words, the IOC’s ‘chief ethics and compliance officer’ Giuseppe Deleonardis claimed Ng had ‘acted in full conformity with the Olympic Charter, and there is no evidence to prove the contrary’.
He added: ‘Mr Ng has the full confidence of the IOC to further develop the Olympic Esports Games project.’ With a complaint lodged in June and a London-based law firm involved, this may not be the end of the matter.
