2005 OSI MLS Referee of the Year Nominees

[MassachusettsRef]

Brian Hall
Abbey Okulaja
Kevin Stott

I'm not sure how the nomination process works. The winner is voted on by managers, players and the media. But I don't know if they vote from among these three, or if they vote from among all and these are the three top vote-getters, with the winner to be revealed next Tuesday.

Either way, surprised to see Okulaja on the list. He's last year's winner, but, at least from the perspective of fans on these boards, hasn't had a great year. I would have thought you would see Prus, who many have said has had an excellent year.

I tend to think that, among the nominees, Hall both deserves and will win the award this year (though I believe Terry Vaughn has had an amazing year but has had to deal with a lot of controversial incidents and might not have the best relationship with players).

[Statesman]

Hate to say it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Stott receives the honor. Any time there is a choice between Hall and Stott I would pick Hall any day. But, given that Stott has not won the award and that Hall was '03 and Okulajah was '04, seems that he's due. Would be strange to have Stott go to the WC, Hall get left behind, but have Hall winning Ref of the Year.

It's a crime Vaughn is not on the list.

[MassachusettsRef]

Statesman,

Remember who votes. They have no vested interest at all in making sure we put our "best foot" forward to FIFA. Like I said, I have no knowledge of how the system works, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Stott's placement on the nominees' list is a move by USSF to get him more exposure as one of our top guys. Simply speculation on my part, but I doubt he'd be one of the top three vote-getters amongst players, fans and the media if they were to choose from the entire pool. Like I said, I tend to think Prus would do very well if that were the case.

All in all though, I doubt FIFA really cares one iota about who wins our "Referee of the Year" award. Who works our MLS Cup Final might be a little more important, but I think that's even a bit of a stretch.

[Shaydee]

I'm surprised not to see Prus on there. I saw about 7 or 8 matches he did this year and was very impressed. Not much dissent from the players who seemed to respect his decisions. Which cannot be said of Okulaja.

[mutinywxgirl]

I can shed some light here. At least from the media standpoint (me, as a photographer from this past year), I was asked to vote. We were provided with a list of all MLS referees and told to give our top three. Since the deadline to vote was this past Sunday at 6pm, it appears that they take the top three in the list and announce them as the finalists. There is not another vote, to my knowledge. Personally, my vote (in no particular order) was for Hall, Stott and Vaughn.

[MassachusettsRef]

I can shed some light here. At least from the media standpoint (me, as a photographer from this past year), I was asked to vote. We were provided with a list of all MLS referees and told to give our top three. Since the deadline to vote was this past Sunday at 6pm, it appears that they take the top three in the list and announce them as the finalists. Good for Stott, then. I think he's a great ref, but I just never had the feeling that he was one of the most well-liked amongst players and managers. Happy to see I'm (at least partially) incorrect about that.

[billf]

Prus has been my favorite this year and it has nothing to do with him being from Jersey. :) I'm surprised as well that Vaughn isn't on the list.

[hornetbiz]

I admittedly haven't seen anywhere near all of Hall's games this year, but the games I have seen I thought he was inconsistent, but still probably deserving of being a finalist.
I would be surprised if Stott won it especially seeing that the players are asked to vote :)...I wonder if the Chivas players were asked to vote before or after the Agoos yellow.
I agree with others...Prus has been great this year...I saw a college game he did a few weeks ago...very physical game but it was very well managed...and his performances in MLS have been consistently good.

[ManiacalClown]

Prus was robbed.


Also, Vaughn doesn't deserve to be within 10 miles of the award, much less win it.

[mutinywxgirl]

The only problem I see with Prus is that he's not had any major problems, thus may not be as highly recognizable of a name to the media who don't necessarily pay attention to the officials - that is, unless something huge happened in the game and they had to report on it. My guess would be that most of the media vote on reputation, not necessarily skill.

[MassachusettsRef]

My guess would be that most of the media vote on reputation, not necessarily skill.I definitely agree with that assessment. Stott and Hall have been two of our best referees over the past few years and Okulaja was last year's winner. That being said, I don't think they constitute the three referees who had the best year. From matches I've seen, I'd say:

Alex Prus
Terry Vaughn
Brian Hall

The interesting thing is that Prus and Vaughn have two completely different styles. I think Prus is viewed more as a manager like Tamberino was and Vaughn is viewed as more of an enforcer like Stott has been in the past. Most like one or the other (most fans and players prefer Prus's style, I think, because as much as some like the laws enforced, that eventually comes back to bite everyone), of course. If you're truly trying to determine who the best referees are, though, you need to respect and give credit to both styles, when they work for a particular referee. Prus has had a great year, largely free from controversy as Lisa pointed out, and the games he referees seem to flow very well. Vaughn, on the other hand, has seemed to be presented with an inordinate number of controversial scenarios (Guevera's red card, several DOGSO decisions, etc.). The admirable thing about Vaughn, in my opinion, is that he's not afraid to make the unpopular decision when he thinks it's right. Has there been more controversy in Vaughn's games this year than those of other referees? Perhaps, but at least he's consistent in the way he calls games and you can count on him to do what's right.

Honestly, I'd like to include Erich Simmons on my personal list above--who I've always been a huge proponent of and who has a great future--but, although he really had no problems this year, he probably didn't have enough games to be seriously considered. As I've said throughout the year, I think he and Geiger will rise to the upper echelon of officials within 2-3 years.

[MassachusettsRef]

Hall wins.

http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_events_news.jsp?ymd=20051025&content_id=46744&vkey=mlscup2005&fext=.jsp

Hall was named the OSI Referee of the Year for the second time in three years, having also taken the honor in 2003. With vast officiating experience at nearly all levels, Hall is widely regarded as one of the best referees in the country.

The U.S. Soccer Federation's administrative handbook for referees lists in its code of ethics for referees the importance of honorable conduct and maintaining the dignity of the referee's position, the importance of treating players courteously and considerately without sacrificing fairness and the importance of showing the utmost respect for the game of soccer, in addition to having a keen knowledge of the laws of the game.

Hall's performance this season as the man in the middle is a prime example of how this handbook should be followed. His understanding of the roles of peacekeeper, judge and enforcer, while still allowing the play of the field to determine the outcome of the match, makes Hall a top referee.

Hall has been a referee in Major League Soccer since the inception of the league. Earlier this year, he became the second referee in league history to run the middle in 100 regular season matches. In addition, he has been a FIFA referee since 1992, and has advanced further on the international level than any other U.S. referee in history, including becoming the first-ever U.S.-born referee to officiate at the FIFA World Cup.

[Statesman]

There really is a soccer god!

[Shaydee]

Don't show this to Chicago fans. :D

[Ref Flunkie]

Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me.