
<p>Michael Oliver, a current Premier League referee, earned about $3,000 to officiate a match in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. The <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premier League</a> referee traveled to the Middle Eastern country to call a game between Al Hilal and Al Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo currently plays for Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.</p>



<p>The <em><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11993493/Michael-Oliver-earned-3-000-referee-Cristiano-Ronaldos-Al-Nassr-Al-Hilal.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daily Mail</a></em> claims that the Saudi league paid for Oliver to fly business class to and from Saudi Arabia. English top flight officials supposedly make roughly half of the aforementioned price for Premier League matches. Oliver, and perhaps other English referees, could make similar trips in the future.</p>



<h2>Not first Premier League referee to go to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere</h2>



<p>Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) leader Howard Webb is apparently more lenient than previous officiating bosses. Webb, a former Premier League referee himself, is open to allowing other officials to work overseas. This is, of course, as long as they don’t miss any of their domestic work.</p>



<p>Oliver was not on duty to referee any of the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/champions-league-tv-schedule/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Champions League</a> fixtures during the week. This allowed him to travel to the Middle East for the Saudi matchup. He will be back on the pitch for a English top flight game at the weekend.</p>



<h5>Oliver booked Ronaldo for NFL tackle on Al Hilal player</h5>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cristiano Ronaldo wrestles a player with a flying headlock in tonight&apos;s game for Al Hilal. All <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CR7?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CR7</a> got was a yellow card from Michael Oliver 🟨<a href="https://t.co/ZmJCHFX7Hk">pic.twitter.com/ZmJCHFX7Hk</a></p>— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/worldsoccertalk/status/1648485722989674496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The Saudi match ended in a 2-0 victory for Al Hilal thanks to multiple penalties awarded by Oliver. However, perhaps the most noteworthy moment of the night for ref came when he booked Ronaldo in the second half. The Portugal international bear-hugged an opposing player and then proceeded to essentially choke-slammed the player to the ground. Ronaldo’s wrestling move could have merited a sending off, but Oliver only gave the superstar a yellow card.</p>



<p>The widely-considered top referee in England will next officiate <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/liverpool-tv-schedule/">Liverpool’s</a> matchup with Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Oliver, 38, began his refereeing career back in 2003. He was quickly added to the National List of Referees just four years later. Oliver has been a Premier League official since 2010 and was added to the UEFA Elite list in 2018.</p>


Premier League referee Michael Oliver was paid a massive fee to officiate a Saudi Pro League matchup on Tuesday.

Premier League official paid thousands to referee Saudi match

<p><a href="https://www.pjtra.com/t/TUJGR0pJRkJHR0lMRk1CR0dGSkpL?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldsoccershop.com%2Fshop%2Fdetails%2Fadidas-fifa-world-cup-al-rihla-league-official-match-soccer-ball_A1063996" target="_new" rel="noopener"></a></p><p></p>
<p>With the World Cup draw on Friday, the official match ball debuted for fans.</p>
<p>Called ‘Al Rihla’, the World Cup 2022 official match ball is the 14th-consecutive ball designed by Adidas for the World Cup. Adidas specifically designed this ball to match the modern speed of the game. In fact, the company and FIFA claim it travels faster in the air than any ball in the tournament’s history.</p>
<p>Of course, prior iterations of Adidas’s ball caused fits for goalkeepers. Specifically, back in 2010, the Jabulani traveled wildly throughout the air, causing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/sports/soccer/04ball.html">criticism even before the tournament</a>.</p>
<p>However, Adidas claims that rigorous testing using data from the inside out in wind tunnels and on the pitch went into this ball. Therefore, Al Rihla provides teh highest levels of accuracy and reliability on the field of play.</p>
<p>Franziska Löffelmann, the Design Director – Football Graphics &amp; Hardwear at Adidas, played a big role in the ball’s design. He says that ball flight and path consistency are increasingly important as soccer continues to get faster.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“The new design allows the ball to maintain a significantly higher speed as it journeys through the air. For the biggest global stage in all of sport, we set out to make the impossible possible with radical innovation by creating the fastest and most accurate FIFA World Cup ball to date.”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Attribute that to its design. At the heart of the ball is a CRT-Core. This provides the speed, accuracy and consistency for play at the World Cup. Then, on the outside, the Speedshell has a new 20-panel design to improve flight stability and swerve. The factors in use are macro- and microtextures as well as surface debossing.</p>
<h3>Official World Cup match ball ‘Al Rihla’</h3>
<p>In Arabic, ‘Al Rihla’ means ‘the journey.’ The design of the ball features inspiration from Qatar and the surrounding area. This includes the flag, culture, architecture and even the famous boats from the country. The official World Cup ball for Qatar 2022 features vibrant colors that stand out against the ‘pearlescent’ background of the ball.</p>
<p>Plus, Adidas and FIFA designed the ball with sustainability in mind. This is the first World Cup ball to be designed exclusively with water-based inks and glues.</p>
<p>The ball debuts in public as part of its journey across ten of the world’s biggest cities. Outside of Doha, which hosts the majority of the competition’s games, the match ball also travels to Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City and New York. Also included in the public debut are World Cup legends Iker Casillas and Kaká, together with representatives of the sport from Qatar.</p>
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="We tried the NEW World Cup ball and it&apos;s ________!" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/esrKb9zlY40?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<p>As part of the ball’s debut trip, Adidas is rolling out initiatives to improve the accessibility and inclusion of the sport as a whole. Equity in the sport among local communities is just one of the goals for Adidas on this trip around the world.</p>
<p>For the World Cup, ‘Al Rihla makes its in-game debut on Monday, November 21. Qatar opens the tournament at 5 a.m. ET.</p>
<p>Don’t miss the World Cup TV schedule with streaming links.</p>

World Cup official match ball unveiled for Qatar 2022

The World Cup official match ball debuted recently. With speed and consistency at the forefront, Adidas took inspiration from the hosts.

World Cup official match ball unveiled for Qatar 2022 - World Soccer Talk

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World Cup official match ball unveiled for Qatar 2022