Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Los Angeles Times

    Kevin Baxter: Soccer rules expert Christina Unkel unafraid to call it like it is — just ask her husband

    by Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Jun 28, 2023 4 minutes
    China's Han Peng is charged with a yellow card by Referee Christina Unkel against United States at FirstEnergy Stadium on June 12, 2018, in Cleveland.

    SARASOTA, Fla. — Every player who has played the game knows the sinking feeling that comes from seeing a referee stride purposefully toward you and reach into their pocket for a card. Will it be red or yellow?

    In my case, it was plastic and of varied hues: Christina Unkel, a veteran FIFA official, insisted on paying for the coffee ahead of our hourlong chat last month, handing her credit card over the counter to the cashier.

    That's not exactly journalism etiquette but I wasn't about to argue with a referee — especially one who is also a lawyer — since the two professions evoke fervor and fury.

    "If you're an official, you're passionate about the game," said Unkel, who

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from Los Angeles Times

    Los Angeles Times5 min read
    Trial Over Mass Evictions At Barrington Plaza In Los Angeles Could Hinge On Meaning Of 'Permanent'
    LOS ANGELES — What does "permanent" mean? For more than 100 people still living at the massive Westside apartment complex Barrington Plaza one year after their owner sought to evict them, a judge's answer to that question, expected soon, is vital to
    Los Angeles Times6 min read
    Sammy Roth: California Farmers Are Low On Water. Why Not Help Them Go Solar?
    It sounds like a climate solution everyone should be able to support: Let’s make it easier and cheaper for farmers with dwindling water supplies to convert their lands from crop production to solar energy generation, if that’s what those farmers want
    Los Angeles Times4 min read
    'Megalopolis': Francis Ford Coppola Teases 'Godfather' Update, Criticizes Hollywood At Cannes
    CANNES, France — In the face of the criticism, controversy and uncertain financial prospects swirling around his self-financed speculative epic "Megalopolis," Francis Ford Coppola met the press at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday with a good-nature

    Related Books & Audiobooks