Being a referee at a major international soccer tournament is an easy job, said no one, ever, or at least not accurately.
But for the beleaguered arbiters in the middle, taking control of a high-stakes game featuring passionate soccer stars with all their fiery emotions, may be about to get a tiny bit simpler.
This summer’s European Championships will feature a fascinating shift in refereeing policy, that essentially permits the only verbal contact between players and refs to come through a team’s captain.
If it works as intended, it could have a dramatic effect on the game, and the way certain aspects of it look.
“Explaining a decision with up to 22 players mobbing you is impossible for a referee,” UEFA managing director of refereeing Roberto Rosetti wrote in an open letter released this week. “It can…
