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24 definitions starting with "C"

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The standard that VAR is supposed to use before overturning referee decisions. In theory, VAR should only intervene if the original call was clearly wrong. In practice, nobody agrees on what's clear or obvious, especially for handball and soft penalties. The phrase has become a punchline for whenever VAR makes a controversial call that seems subjective rather than definitive.

Arsenal fans still argue about the "clear and obvious" standard after various controversial VAR decisions went against them - the phrase became a sarcastic response whenever the technology overturned or upheld questionable calls.
The Ref
The Ref Feb 6, 2026
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The Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is the English season curtain-raiser that is played between the winners of the Premier League and the FA Cup the previous season. If a team wins the double of both Premier League and FA Cup, the other team in the Community Shield will be the runners-up from the Premier League. It is traditionally played at Wembley Stadium, although in some seasons the game has been played in Cardiff and Leicester. The fixture exists in other countries as a Super Cup of some sort, and also in European competition as the European Super Cup (a match between the Champions League winners and the Europa League winners).

In the Premier League era only 8 teams have won the Community/Charity Shield and gone on to win the league that season.

The Commentator
The Commentator Aug 21, 2026
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How close together a team stays when defending. A compact shape has small gaps between players and lines, making it hard for opponents to play through. When compactness breaks down - players drift, lines stretch - holes appear. Analytics can measure it by tracking the distance between the deepest defender and highest attacker, or the space between lines. Staying compact requires discipline and fitness.
Atlético Madrid's compactness under Simeone made them incredibly hard to break down. The gap between their defensive and midfield lines was often less than 10 meters, leaving attackers with no space to receive between the lines.
Robbie Feb 5, 2026
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The third tier of European football, the UEFA Conference League was originally due to be named Europa League 2 before it was launched as the Europa Conference League in the 2021-22 season. It was intended to provide greater opportunity for lower-ranked European nations to play in European competition for longer. It’s opened up positive European experiences for many clubs, including lower-ranked teams from the top leagues who would otherwise never have successful adventures, such as West Ham and Crystal Palace from the Premier League or Olympiakos from Greece. The winner of the Conference League qualifies for the following season’s Europa League.

Despite being branded as a competition aimed at providing teams from leagues with lower-coefficients a chance at European football, three of the first five winners of the Conference League have come from the Premier League.

The Gaffer
The Gaffer Oct 13, 2026
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Getting destroyed by an opponent, either individually or as a team. If a defender gets cooked, they've been beaten repeatedly. If a team gets cooked, they've been embarrassed. The opposite of the player who's "cooking" - someone has to be on the receiving end. Common in post-match social media analysis, especially with clips of players getting dribbled past.
When Vinícius Jr. destroyed Kyle Walker multiple times in the 2022 Champions League semi-final, Twitter was full of posts showing Walker getting "cooked" - the clips of him being turned inside out went viral.
Robbie Feb 7, 2026
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