Archive September 2, 2025

Disallowing Fulham goal was ‘misjudgement’ – Webb

By in News, Sports News

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Timothy Abraham
Journalist for BBC Sport
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Howard Webb, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, calls the decision to forbid Josh King’s goal for Fulham in their weekend defeat against Chelsea a “misjudgement.”

King, 18, scored after 22 minutes, but Rodrigo Muniz’s foul was lengthyly recorded by the video assistant referee (VAR) during the intervening period.

Trevoh Chalobah, Chelsea’s centre-back, was alleged to have stepped on Muniz’ foot as he approached the halfway line.

Marco Silva, manager of Fulham, called it “unbelievable” that the goal was denied.

After another contentious VAR decision went against the visitors, leaving Silva furious, Chelsea won the game 2-0 with Joao Pedro’s header and Enzo Fernandez’s penalty.

Michael Salisbury was removed as the match’s VAR official following the game between Liverpool and Arsenal.

PGMOL’s chief refereeing officer Webb acknowledged the error while speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, a television program that analyzes VAR decisions from previous gameweeks.

When the “evidence is very clear,” according to Webb, officials should “only be taking goals away,” according to the guidance they give officials.

It was not contentious; it was incorrect. We’ve established some guidelines for how we conduct matches in the Premier League and use VAR,” said Webb.

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That instruction was not properly followed in this circumstance. The officials involved in this incident made a false assumption about how Muniz and Chalobah got in touch.

Without considering the full scope of the situation, the officials “got super focused on that contact.”

Chelsea has benefited from a VAR intervention in its second successive Premier League home game.

Marc Guehi was found to have stifled Eberechi Eze’s free kick in Crystal Palace’s 0-0 draw on the opening weekend owing to his alleged interference with the wall.

VAR decisions, according to Burnley manager Scott Parker, are “threatening to turn football into the most sterile game there is,” but Webb defended its use.

The PGMOL chief continued, “We’ve done really well in the last 18 months or so, with respect to the referee’s call.”

We need to keep doing that because the Premier League has seen the least amount of intervention than any other major league in Europe.

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France issues arrest warrant for Syria’s Assad over killing of journalists

By in News, World News

According to a judicial source and a human rights organization, a French court has issued arrest warrants for seven former top Syrian officials, including former president Bashar al-Assad, related to the bombing of a press center in Homs.

On February 22, 2012, a rocket struck the “informal press center,” injuring two journalists and an interpreter, as well as renowned US journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

In addition to al-Assad, who emigrated to Russia in December of that year when opposition fighters took control of Syria, warrants have also been issued against his brother Maher al-Assad, who at the time was de facto commander of the 4th Syrian armoured division, intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub, among others.

In its courts, France allows the filing of crimes against humanity.

According to the Syrian Center for Media and Free Expression, it was determined that the attack had purposefully targeted foreign journalists by the French judiciary.

According to Mazen Darwish, a lawyer and general director of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, “the judicial investigation clearly established that the attack on the informal press center in Bab Amr was part of the Syrian regime’s explicit intention to target foreign journalists in order to stifle media coverage of its crimes and force them to leave the city and the country.”

The journalists were the victims of a “targeted bombing,” according to the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) who also reported.

The warrants, which were issued on Tuesday, were welcomed by Clemence Bectarte, the family of Ochlik, and he called them “a decisive step that opens the door for a trial in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.”

The attack on the informal press center where they were employed also injured British photographer Paul Conroy, French journalist Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar.

Colvin, who had lost one eye to an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war, was renowned for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch. A Private War, a Golden Globe-nominated movie, celebrated her career.

Deadly blast hits rally in Pakistani city of Quetta, officials say

By in News, World News

Local media and a police official claim that at least 11 people were killed in an explosion at a rally held in Quetta, Pakistan, by the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M).

Police are conducting an investigation into the explosion, police official Athar Rasheed told Reuters on Tuesday.

At least 29 people were hurt in the explosion in the western city, according to the English-language Dawn news site.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion.

NNPCL Appoints Odeh As Spokesman, Adewunmi As Relations Officer

By in News, Nigeria News

Andy Odeh and Morenike Adewunmi have been appointed as the chief communications and chief relations officers by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Femi Soneye’s resignation as NNPC’s spokesperson two months after Odeh’s appointment was announced.

Morenike Adewunmi was appointed as the country’s chief relations officer in a statement released on Tuesday.

Odeh, who works in the oil and gas, advertising, and broadcasting sectors, has more than 30 years of combined experience in communications and business administration.

He worked for Nigeria LNG (NLNG) for 26 years before joining the NNPC.

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He also held a number of leadership positions, including general manager of external relations and sustainable development, business relations and development, business logistics and services, information management and technology, corporate communications and public affairs, government relations and regulatory compliance, and more recently.

“He is renowned for his contributions to significant brand advertising and public relations campaigns. He successfully led the rebranding of the business at NLNG and implemented one of the best-run micro-credit programs in host communities in Nigeria.

The NLNG Prize for Energy Reporting was also spearheaded by Mr. Odeh. He graduated from among others the University of Jos, the University of Lagos, INSEAD Business School, and the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).

Adewunmi, a lawyer with over 25 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, is described by the NNPC as a legal professional.

According to the oil company, “her expertise is in stakeholder management and advocacy, particularly given her extensive tenure at the Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCIN).”