I'm surprised not to see a running thread on the NCAA tournament, particularly following the many refereeing controversies that have been (and continue to be) discussed over on the college boards. Let's start with today's NCAA quarterfinal game between Akron and California, during which one of the ARs - upset with the conduct of one of the coaches and the (perceived, at least) lack of support from the CR - simply walked off the field at the beginning of the second half (delaying the resart) and had to be replaced. Details and explanation, please. This follows the UCSB v. California Round-of-16 match that was (1) refereed by a ref ineligible to ref (a game at that level of the tournament, per the NCAA's regs); (2) refereed poorly, by all accounts; and (3) ended with a complete meltdown. Again, details (including sanctions, if any) and explanation would be welcome. I did not see these games myself, I should note, but I will try to provide reference points in a separate post, below.
Akron v California [Crossposted from NCAA Quarterfinal Previews] https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1602627 Okay, I've taken this one as far as I can. If anyone can tell us exactly what happened, please do. Comments welcome!
Here's the photo in the Beacon Journal. http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/111330234.html No. 11 of 11 in the slide show.
Ah the ncaa and nisoa, too of my favorite organizations. I'm dying to hear what happened between the referee and the AR. I can only imagine how this will be whitewashed. And if the referee really did fail to properly sanction the coach I hope this leads to changes and results in the overturning of the degree of influence coaches have in the selection process for officials.
UCSB v. California I'm afraid I cannot do justice to this one, but I can point you in the right direction ... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1345951&page=33 From the Cal thread ... There's a lot more discussion, in several threads. Happy hunting!
Thanks! Official CJ Morgante is escorted from the field by a University of Akron police officer during the NCAA quarterfinal game against Cal at Lee Jackson Field in Akron. (Phil Masturzo/Akron Beacon Journal)
As a resident of Akron, and an acquaintance and often teammate of the 4th official of that game, and an acquaintance of the other AR, John Safar, I can say that such a thing happening is a disappointment. Anyone know who the center was?
It should be noted that CJ Morgante is one of our FIFA AR's. This is a guy with a great deal of experience, and I am surprised to hear that he is the AR in question. We'll probably never know exactly what happened, but I doubt it's something as simple as is being reported.
So one of our best ARs walked out on a NCAA quarterfinal. I'd guess that the coach probably said enough to get booted 3 times over.
anyone know anything about the CR, Peter Dhima? If CJ Morgante is as respected as it sounds, was Dhima really too timid to sanction the coach or was this a bad assignment in general for this level of match? Things in the NCAA just get curiouser and curiouser...
I don't know how true this is, but it is at least plausible. Although it seems doubtful to me that Dhima sent Morgante off; more likely Morgante just chose to take a hike. Very unprofessional. At least leave your flag, dude. I will say I don't really understand coaches, players, or others who constantly harp at referees to "call it both ways", etc. If Porter really "kept getting on to him to call a fair game" he (Porter) probably did deserve to be sent off.
DaniCrew states, in his lengthy version of what happened, "(i was behind the goal so it's impossible for me to give my own opinion)" Soooo....let me get this right...DaniCrew, who tells us he was behind the goal line, has a much better perception of what happened, than a not so new FIFA AR badge, but one that has had it since 2007...it would appear that this is not Mr. Morgante' 1st rodeo. Life is SO much easier behind the goal, than with a uniform on.
Oh my God. A number of posters need perspective as apparently the coaches do as well. If a coach were to yell at me to take my head out of my ass, he is being dismissed from the technical area. DaniCrew is completely wrong to think officials need to put up with abusive language from the coaches and the players. I commend Morgante for standing up for his principals. Referees are not punching bags for coaches and players to take out their frustrations on. The center referee refusing to back up his assistant when he is abused is terrible. Nice example set by the coaches of belligerent behavior. A fine example for the players.
Nobody has mentioned the 4th having an active role in any of this. Where the heck was he in all this besides as a stand-in after the damage was done? If the 4th was assigned to the technical area either he was hard of hearing or otherwise out of touch with the situation. Anyone see any interaction first half between the 4th and the benches?
Agreed. Pretty much everything in DaniCrew's post is speculation and hearsay. As I said before, unless the officials themselves make some kind of statement, I doubt we will ever really know what happened. I think everyone should be very skeptical of any analysis of the situation that doesn't come directly from those involved.
You're doing a lot of assuming. I don't think Dani claimed to know exactly what was said and in his post was "filling in the blanks" with shorthand quotes. I know that of what I did hear (and I could hear Porter a few times, very clearly), it was not foul or abusive. Angry, yes. There are a precious few people who know all of what was said. To act otherwise is silly and reactionary. It seems that for some here, the level of "authority" attained is directly proportional to how trustworthy/blameworthy one is in a particular instance. That's not very Laws of the Game-like. The Laws say the referee has the final say, full stop.
I don't care if this is his first rodeo. Unless he is physically threatened he need to finish his assignment. Then take up his differences with the CR not ejecting the coach with his assessor and the NCAA. Frankly his conduct should cause Morgante to have his FIFA badge taken away. I do not condone abuse but he is not the CR, he is not calling the shots and he lost my respect when he reportedly said either he goes or I go. Now if more details come out my opinion may change but as of right now Morgante's arrogance and lack of professionalism are worse than any chirping that coaching staff is guilty of.
Your post is quite amusing. You say mine is a speculative post? Well just what would you consider DaniCrew's post to be if not purely speculative? The only thing I speculated on was a comment that DaniCrew made where he assumed a coach told the AR to pull his head out of his ass. Thanks though. Now the referee may have the final authority and it is a valid debate on whether as the AR Morgante should have not walked off, but there is no question that there are huge differences between NISOA/NCAA and the USSF/FIFA. Frankly the game receives a great disservice to be officiated under NISOA/NCAA rules and here you have a perfect example of how screwed up the game is in the USA.
Most of it was. I don't think he pretended that it was otherwise. You seem to think it was Dani's first-hand account, for some reason (so you can rail against it?).
Well you have to admit he presented it that way and I was not the only poster to mention it too. Perhaps it has much more to do with his mistaken attitude that referees should turn a deaf ear and further enable inappropriate behavior. Are you now Dani's official spokesperson? It's rhetorical he or she should defend their remarks not you heh.
In the NCAA the referee does NOT have the authority to dismiss one of his assistants, it is not clearly spelled out in the rule book.
I REALLY wish someone would make video of this match available, NCAA, Akron, whoever. It would be worth watching the whole thing.
Assuming (as I do) you are correct, that would make it much more likely that the AR walked off, rather than that he was ordered off (by the CR). Could someone even higher up have intervened? Back to the three-minute restart delay, I picture a conversation between the AR and CR something along these lines ... How's that for pure speculation? I guess what I'm trying to picture is a set of circumstances that would justify the CR not standing up for the AR, by (at least) cautioning the (presumed) offenders and threatening them with expulsion (if not expelling them directly on the spot). In other words, if I'm the CR, if the AR comes to me with a claim of abuse from the bench, I'm backing him up - every time - even if I think he's been doing a poor job (They're right!) and/or I think he is being overly sensistive (Grow a pair!).