Of Whistles and Worsteds

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by Bill Archer, Sep 5, 2007.

  1. Bill Archer

    Bill Archer BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 19, 2002
    Washington, NC
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One of the less appealing side effects of the (now somewhat tarnished) Beckhampalooza has been the renewed opportunity for all those dimwitted, lock-step marching American sportswriters to dash off a column - on their way to the daily "Media Conference" at their local major university or pro sports franchise (they have to make sure they get there before the shrimp puffs are all gone) on the topic of "The Future of Soccer in America".

    At least 2/3 of the BigSoccer membership could write that column for them while on the tenth day of a two week grain alcohol, peyote and ether binge; we've all read the same "article" so many times from so many different sources that we know the thing by heart: they all start with a Beckham reference, make a snarky comment about his wife, mention youth participation numbers, and then get around to the point, which is usually that since they don't like soccer, then clearly nobody likes soccer, and anyway, there's no room for "another major sport" in America.

    (An aside: I don't mean to get particularly defensive here, but how come all these guys feel free - even obligated - to make snippy, sarcastic side comments about Victoria? Have you ever seen the kind of cheap, air-headed, bleach-blond, arrogant clothes horse a lot of American professional jocks are married to? When will we see them take cheap shots at, say, Roger Clemens' wife, or Peyton Manning's or Alan Iverson's?

    One sentence I guarantee you'll never read in an American newspaper is "All Star first baseman Bennie Bigbat hit a monster shot over the right field fence while his cheap-looking, jewelry-encrusted wife, looking like she applies her makeup with a cement trowel, clapped politely in the stands".

    Most likely it has something to do with the fact that Bennie Bigbat will find you in the locker room, rip off your leg and jam it up your ass if you make fun of his wife. Maybe Becks should pick one of these guys out and kick crap out of them. "Beckham Puts Sportswriter in Hospital for Insulting His Wife" is a headline I'd sure love to see)

    Now there are a lot of reasons why soccer is not a "major sport" in the US, and I have no intention of opening that whole discussion. Not enough hours in the day and all that.

    However, I am going to pick out one of them: the referees.

    At the moment, of course, nobody much is watching and so most American sports fans aren't aware of how truly putrid MLS officiating is. But on those rare occasions when soccer may get their attention it would sure be nice to not have to explain why it is our game officials seem to, well, stink.

    I can hardly think of a single MLS game this year where the guy in he center didn't make some completely inexplicable, mind-blowing, glaring, game-altering decision that left you shaking your head in disbelief.

    All of us probably have one particular incident that stands out in our minds: for me, it was when Barros-Schelotto was dribbling into the center of the box, about to go one-on-one with the keeper, and a defender came from his left side, slightly behind, went for the tackle, missed badly and chopped Schelotto down. The referee blew his whistle and signaled a foul. On Schelotto.

    If this was an isolated incident, fine. It happens in all sports. (Calling Don Denkinger) But we all know it happens with alarming regularity in MLS. Often three or four times a game. Absurd sendoffs, phantom PK's, inexplicable cautions and standards which range from "no-autopsy-no-foul" to "illegal breathing".

    The players are frustrated. The coaches are tearing their hair out. The fans feel cheated after having an event they paid good money to see get ruined by some pompous moron with a whistle.

    And it's not like the league isn't trying to fix it:

    Every single MLS game has a USSF National Referee Assessor (called an "In-Stadium Observer", or ISO) in the stands and another National Assessor - called a coach/mentor - either watches the game on live TV or is also there in person for "hands-on" coaching.

    The ISO meets with the referee immediately after the game to go over his performance. Then the ISO calls or meets with the Coach/Mentor and they discuss the referee's performance. In addition, the "MLS office" and the US Soccer staff will often contact the Coach/Mentor with "input"

    The Coach/Mentor then writes a final evaluation and gives the referee a grade. Each referee gets a videotape of the match and is required to watch it and write a self-evaluation of his performance. (How some of them keep from shooting themselves during this stage I cannot imagine)

    The report is submitted to USSF electronically and can be viewed by the Coach / Mentors, US Soccer staff and MLS officials. The referee is also contacted by a member of the US Soccer staff, and they review the game together and evaluate his performance.

    And of course, MLS now employs some of the referees full-time, so they can focus completely on being "the best they can be".

    So there's really not much excuse for how lousy some of them are; it's not like the errors aren't being pointed out to them. Frankly, if you're getting all this professional help and you're still not getting it, then maybe - just maybe - THEY SHOULD FIRE YOU.

    Speaking of firing, since the day MLS began, the guy who's been in overall charge of all things referee has been Director of Officiating Joe Machnik. Now Joe is a member of the American soccer good-old-boys network, a former player and coach who now runs a very successful goakeeper camp, a former MISL indoor ref and probably a very nice guy.

    But if, after twelve years on the job, you were turning in results like Joe's, I'm thinking your boss would wonder if maybe you ought to pursue another line of work. Let's give Joe a gold watch and a nice luncheon and then turn his job over to somebody else, someone willing to take some drastic steps.

    To start with, the league simply has to crack down on dissent. Immediately. Every single foul call seems to draw a crowd of players, yelling in his face. And they aren't there because they think they can get the guy to change his mind. They're there to intimidate him out of making the next call against them. Let's have a group of retired refs and players review game tapes and every time you run over and yell at a ref it costs you $500.

    Secondly, they have to crack down, somehow, on the theatrics. All the diving, all the rolling around in pain, all the bullshit. It's not soccer, it's not sportsmanlike and it's very tough if not impossible to call on the spot. Again, review the tapes, fine the players and get it stopped.

    Then you've cleared the decks. Instead of a Soap Opera, you're running a soccer game, and then we can see how good you are or aren't and go from there.

    I'm told that in Italy there used to be, maybe still is, a wildly popular TV show wherein every week a panel of ex-officials would review and discuss referee calls from the previous weekend. Now I don't think we need to worry about a bidding war between American networks for the rights to that one anytime soon, but the point is that consistently weak officials are pretty quickly exposed.

    Maybe they can make the referee evaluations public: post them on that now-indecipherable mlsnet.com. If nothing else, it would let the fans know that the league at least noticed when the guy blows it. Because right now, we have no idea.

    Bottom line, you can't aspire to be a "major league" sport with spotty-to-terrible officiating, and the time to get serious about it was ten years ago.



    Now that MLS is going to have to struggle on Without Further Adu, the "Pele of the Potomac" having sprinted off across the seas, you have to wonder if he'll ever really come to terms with what happened here in MLS.

    We all talk about "development" as if it was something that someone else gives you, but in soccer it is largely what you do for yourself. It's tough to be a 14 year old who makes commercials with Pele, and few of us could come through his experiences with both feet firmly on the ground.

    Hopefully when the next Freddy comes along - and he will - ALL of us, fans and league alike - will have learned some lessons.


    I've noticed lately that - either by design or coincidence - many MLS coaches are leaning toward a more formal attire. Coach Kries has worn a suit since day one, although he looks like a guy who borrowed the thing from his roommate to go to a wedding. Sears makes a lot of great stuff, Jason, but men's clothing isn't their strong suit.

    Curt Onolfo and Tom Soehn both look like they tried to dress up but then succumb to he fact that it's 105 degrees down there on the bench and end up sitting there in long sleeves. Of course Fernando Clavijo has always gone for the "boating regatta" look with open collar and tasteful blazer, and Moe Johnston is trying, but everything he wears looks like he slept in it. For a week. At the bus station.

    Of course some guys, like Arena and Kinnear, are gonna wear what they want, and Sigi - well, let's just acknowledge that even the Big and Tall shop has it's limits.

    Many people seem to want the coaches in suits because it's usually what they wear overseas, but November in London is a bit different climate than Houston in August, and accommodations have to be made.

    Besides, nobody in MLS makes the kind of money it takes to dress like Arsene Wenger, in impeccably tailored, understated merino wool and school ties right out of fleet street, let alone a Jose Mourinho, whose stylishly cut Italian silks and perfect accessories worn with a continental dash would look a bit odd on Frank Yallop anyway.

    Perhaps MLS coaches should use a guy like Alan Curbishly as a model. He's hardly a clothes horse, and sometimes it looks like he got dressed in the back seat of the car on the way to the stadium, but it's a more American take, overall, than what some of his peers can pull off.

    And a lot cheaper, too.
     
  2. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A-freakin'-men on your referee comments Bill. Not bad on the rest of it either. ;)
     
  3. texgator

    texgator New Member

    Oct 28, 2003
    Plano
    My absolute favorite part of the Generic Sports Journo Hack Soccer piece is how the reader is "educated" on the reasons why professional soccer will never be as big as, say, football or basketball in this country. The reason this "argument" is so fascinating is because there is virtually no respected, knowledgeable person arguing on the other side of this point anymore. Even those that run professional soccer in this country don't, in their grandest, long term visions, think that such a thing is possible in the next 20 years. Yet, the oh so compelling argument against it is a virtual requirement for these articles. Oh yeah....well I'm gonna say it now, and I don't care who I offend, there's is NO WAY that musical theater is EVER going to be as big as the motion picture industry. That's right....I'm saying it. So take THAT Broadway!!!
     
  4. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My referee moment was a NE-KC game a few weeks back, it was no doubt the most poorly officiated soccer game I've ever seen, and is only behind Game 5 of the 1999 ALCS in other sports to me. What can you really expect out of a league that pays it's rookies about as much as McDonalds pays people though? Anyone who has watched the Gals play lately has noticed how appalled Beckham has been by the officiating. As for the beginning of your column, my favirote part about all the anti-soccer columns lately has been the blatant lack of research done by the writers, they just make stuff up. Stuff like Skip Bayless(it wasnt a column he said it on TV) saying that LeBron James has won more than David Beckham in his career. Considering all LeBron has won is an Eastern conference final, and Beckham has won like 10 league titles and numerous other cups, unbelievable. Or Christine Brennan saying that Chelsea-Galaxy friendly was the most important game David Beckham has ever played in. The game he played in right before that for Real was more important, and the game he played against Germany since was more important. I wont even get into the hundreds of other games he has played in that were more important.

    Bravo on the column, great work, a hell of alot better than that garbage Monday10shirt or whatever his name is churns out.
     
  5. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're really not going to like tomorrow's piece, then.
     
  6. Thomas A Fina

    Thomas A Fina Member

    Mar 29, 1999
    Hell
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They day Abbey Okulaja gets s***canned is the day I know someone at USSF HQ is paying attention.
     
  7. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Let me guess, 200 words or so about how the service at TGI Friday's pisses you off, or something like that, and then you predict the Revs and Galaxy to lose.
     
  8. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    BTW my referee moment? Rapids at FSL early last season when the official called a PK on a hand ball...that happened a good yard utside the box, and it was ball playing hand. If you can't even figure out that the ball is outside the box by a yard, why are you officiaiting MLS games? Cost the Rapids 2 points.

    (Admittedly, the football lines at RES don't do the refs any favors but come on, a yard outside the box!)
     
  9. The Devil's Architect

    Feb 10, 2000
    The American Steppe
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Never been to a TGIFridays.


    It's not really a prediction when it's basically a near certain fact.
     
  10. dredgfan

    dredgfan Member+

    MLS
    Nov 5, 2004
    Denver or NOLA
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here what I never got about diving, but somehow may pertain to the view of soccer as a 'sissy' sport. When fouled, some roll on the ground, hoping for the other player to be sent off. I'm a pacifist(re: part time pothead) but when I'm on the field and someone pulls some hack shite out and just gets dirty, I don't roll around. I pop right up ready to send them off myself. Why act like a blade of grass has severed vital organs when popping up and letting the other guy know you can't be hurt, while also letting him know he's being gunned for, would work better?
     
  11. DGA57

    DGA57 Member

    Jun 17, 2002
    Dublin, OH
    More recent examples of referee ineptitude would be the last Rapids-Crew game from the weekend. I'll narrow down just to two moments. In the second minute of the match, Petke hammers into Barros-Schelotto who just managed to move the ball to the wing towards Moreno. Whistle blows, advantage disappears, and then no card is even shown on that one. If you're going to warn the guy, at least let the play develop. The second one was when Sanneh managed to grab hold of someone's jersey in midfield, ride the guy for 3-4 yards, stop the counter, and then not get the card shown to him. Just another stern warning from the inept guy in the middle.
     
  12. dredgfan

    dredgfan Member+

    MLS
    Nov 5, 2004
    Denver or NOLA
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Being inept is one thing.

    Being in the middle is another.

    But being both in the middle and inept, someone's going to notice.
     
  13. John_Harkes_6

    John_Harkes_6 New Member

    Mar 29, 2000
    Baltimore, MD.
    I guess no one has watched any Premiership games this year? Blown calls are not isolated to MLS.

    I mean the PK Chelsea received against Liverpool was downright heinous.

    Until you get a deep enough pool of referees this problem is not going to go away. Yes, it is great fun to sit here and say let's draw and quarter poorly performing refs but it isn't like we got 40 more waiting to cut their teeth in the big leagues. And some people need to realize that it is a lot different sitting your fat ass in front of a high def TV with slow motion and 45 replays to judge from then it is running the length of a 100+ yd field trying to stay in position and judge in a second whether something was a foul or PK. I am not saying lets sit here and do nothing - but the solution to this problem is years and years of investments in the lwoer leagues to identify refs and invest in those that can make it in the big leagues. Its not like if we add $5k to the pay a bunch of Collina clones are going to emerge from the woodwork.

    I do agree with some of the rule changes Bill mentioned. They need to crack down on the dissent and there should be penalties for diving after the fact. However, good luck getting the players union which is gaining steam to agree to the later.

    One rule Bill didn't propose that I would like implemented is keep your God damn hands off the ball after the ref blows the whistle for a foul. I can't stand watching a played think they are freaking Larry Bird and grab the ball - walk 15 yds and try and sink a three from half-court while their teammates get back into position. FIFA experimented with this at one of the U-XX World Cups. I think it got shot down because a number of kids got soft yellows (I think one even got a red because he later committed a more serious foul). And yes, the cards came fast and heavy at the beginning of the tournament but if memory serves they were fewer and far between towards the end as the kids learned don't touch the freaking ball. It would make the game more exciting as teams would have a better opportunity to take a quick set piece and catch the other team napping.
     
  14. JCUnited

    JCUnited Member

    Oct 7, 2002
    South Bend, IN
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    No disrespect to any here, but fans all over the planet whine about the refs everywhere.

    So I tend to not take serious any advice/opinions about the officials from an internet message board.

    But, one thing to think about. Try to get outside your own heads.

    MLS and USSF have all these measures in place to improve the officiating. Maybe, just maybe, the reason that the refs you all are whining about are still in the middle is because the people actually involved in pro soccer officiating don't think they are doing a horrible job.

    Maybe, just maybe, somebody here needs to take one second and think that they might be wrong, and maybe the MLS officials are not that bad.

    Because the system is in place to weed out horrible officials, and I haven't noticed any officials getting fired lately on my Direct Kick, so maybe they aren't as bad as some like to claim.

    Something to think about.
     
  15. Mick7184

    Mick7184 New Member

    Jan 21, 2007
    Franklin, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Premiership has it's officiating issues, but I've never seen it look like amateur hour like you see in 50% of MLS games. That PK from the Chelsea-Liverpool game wouldnt even register on the bad MLS calls scale. Look at the way the people that have spent plenty of time out of MLS react to the officiating, like I said earlier, Beckham has clearly been appalled by it, Nicol is going to have a heart attack on the sidelines one of these days, and the reactions of Euro players when they come to play here against MLS sides is comical. If noticed alot of the guys like Dichio that have come in here this year, one of the first things they bring up when people ask them to compare leagues is how piss poor MLS' officiating is.
     
  16. Big-Time Crew Fan

    Apr 8, 2000
    How about the league HQ give itself a DP and hire Pierluigi Collina to be the new Director of Officiating?
    '​
     
  17. Thomas A Fina

    Thomas A Fina Member

    Mar 29, 1999
    Hell
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    :D

    and I remember that no touching the ball after the whistle rule in the U-tourney (I believe it was Gaven who picked up the first card due to the new rule.). It did get better (and if implemented, players would get used to it as time wore on) , and I remember it was a refreshing change from the usual shenanigans

    I thought the reason they never continued it was because it would have been a good idea. This is FIFA after all.
     
  18. Geneva

    Geneva LA for Life

    Feb 5, 2003
    Southern Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It is tough to watch the bad calls. We could all cite one or two after every game. Last week for me it was Kipre of RSL wrapping both arms around Kyle Martino to take him down in the box, and no call from Okulaja.

    But now that Bill's outlined the evaluation system, I can guess at what is happening. These guys are second-guessing themselves, they're afraid to make a call. Marrufo got criticized earlier in the year for calling soft PK's, and now you can see him missing obvious ones. He called a couple of great games in the first part of the year, but he's regressed. Re-watching the game & doing a self-evaluation?? It's overkill.

    Agree with the don't touch the dead ball rule - also, don't obstruct free kicks, get out of the way or get a yellow. The gamesmanship can ruin a game if a team really puts in their best effort at it. Can MLS implement these rules without a FIFA edict?
     
  19. LordRobin

    LordRobin Member+

    Sep 1, 2006
    Akron, OH
    Club:
    Cleveland C. S.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    MLS officiating is poor, no doubt, but a moment in the US Open Cup Tuesday night was worse than anything I've ever seen. First half, late in stoppage time, Seattle gets an attack into the penalty area. The ball's on the attacker's foot, he's moving, just needs a few jukes to get off a shot... and the ref suddenly blows his whistle and ends the half. I'd never seen a ref end play in the middle of an offensive chance before. It left me shouting "What the f***?!" at my computer screen...

    Now this is the USOC, not MLS, but it is run by the USSF, the same group that's supposed to be helping MLS evaluate their refs. If this is the quality of officiating for the semifinals of their "big tournament", I don't see what we can expect of them in regards to helping MLS.

    ------RM
     
  20. Cassano

    Cassano Member

    Jul 16, 2004
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    The Italian show your talking about was "Processo di Biscardi" which used to go on Monday nights and show referee decisions and go in depth into 3D measurements and such. No longer on the air. However all over Italy every weekend every show about soccer goes through the "Moviola", which is the slow motion replay of every suspicious incident that went on over the weekend (usually conducted by a former referee), and then analysts debate whether it was right or wrong.
     
  21. canadianscraggledog

    canadianscraggledog New Member

    Jun 26, 2005
    London, Canada
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Poland
    Sure, the MLS can have Graham Pol and Rob Stiles, if you think the EPL refs are better. :D
     
  22. John L

    John L Member+

    Sep 20, 2003
    Alexandria, VA
    All of these are already FIFA rules - FIFA just instructed the Refs to emphasize the dead ball rule for the Tourney -

    All the suggestions from Bill and others are good and should be implemented - We do not want NFL Instant Replay (which has hamstrung the game and the Refs), but a review of all Cards and Falls by a panel during the following week would be a great idea - (And ANY league, anywere, in any sport can do this) - Issue additional game suspensions for particularly bad fouls, issue Yellows after-the-fact for Dives that weren't called by the Ref during the game, etc, etc - You probably wouldn't want to rescind Cards for bad calls during a game, because that would discourage the Refs from trying to do the right thing - But I think this would make for a healthier Reffing situation in MLS - Refs would feel OK to try to make tough, unpopular calls if they feel it really was a foul and should be called, and they wouldn't feel second-guessed by someone else after-the-fact

    Another aspect to encourage is "Game Management", particularly early in a game - There are certain Refs in England and Argentina that do this particularly well in emotional games - If there is a borderline physical foul early in the game, they will take the two players aside and talk calmly to them to calm them down and yet firmly warn them to stop the overly-physical fouls - No Cards, just a stern talking to - And sometimes it takes only just a really bad scowl - Imagine an MLS player getting a scowl from Pierluigi Collina - Course he would scare anyone with a smile too - ANYWAYS - "Game Management" would allow the Ref to let players know he sees the fouls but is letting the flow of the game go on for now -
     
  23. spectre

    spectre New Member

    Feb 18, 2000
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seconded.

    On a related note, how much does it cost to ship 150-175 pounds to Botswana?
     
  24. Len

    Len Member+

    Club: Dallas Tornado
    Jan 18, 1999
    Everywhere and Nowhere.....I'm the wind, baby.
    This pretty much nails what's wrong with the sport. When, as a fan watching with a non-fan, you have to continually talk about how you don't like that nonsense either, something's wrong.
     
  25. Pierre Head

    Pierre Head Member+

    Dec 24, 2005
    For a very good analysis of refereeing issues in MLS going
    back over several seasons, take a look at this blog site.

    http://fortheintegrityofsoccer.blogs.com/artandscienceofrefereeing/

    Also with reference to the MLS referee assessment procedure,
    you should understand that many of the ISO's and the coach/mentors
    are people who themselves have never refereed professional soccer matches in a top outdoor professional league themselves. This includes the National Director of Assessment, and Joe Macknik himself (although he is not an ISO or coach/mentor). It is not surprising that these assessments
    are not effective. Mainly they are appeasements.

    "And it's not like the league isn't trying to fix it:" :rolleyes:

    Yes it is! I have been told by a friend of mine with inside knowledge that apparently knowledgable and experienced assessors who are too critical of the league's favorite referees are dispensed with, and replaced by
    less qualified people who do not rock the boat, and know what to
    say to keep their jobs.

    All of this has been pointed out time and time again for years
    in the printed press, and on referee internet boards.
    For instance see the discussions of the recent Beckham/Marsch
    foul and its repercussions on the Integrity blog site listed above.

    And as for the EPL, the referee who gave the bad PK decision
    in the Chelsea/Liverpool game was suspended as a result. This was
    all over the press and internet.
     

Share This Page