I hereby declare this new thread to be where we shall discuss MLS referee assignments of years past as well as discuss and work as a community on the database I have created to keep track of all these stats. I'm going to be posting year by year statistics gradually as I slog through the copying and pasting of SQL queries and turn it into something readable. Don't expect more than one year in one night. I might go insane if I tried to do it all at once. If you spot something you know or even suspect might be wrong, LET ME KNOW. This is in no way a collection of official stats. My goal is to be as accurate as possible, and I am fully aware that there are discrepancies between what I have collected and what MLS seems to think are the "official" numbers. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER(s): Any time a player received a second caution in the same match it is recorded in the database as ONE yellow and ONE red (for 2CT). There are two reasons for this. One, MLS seems to count it that way on their official statistics, and I wanted to remain consistent. Two, because MLS did not provide the reasons for cautions/ejections in most of the early match summaries, I have no idea on some of the matches if a player was shown two yellows or was shown a yellow and a straight red in the same match. At least this way I don't have to guess. Also, the infamous Jair Marrufo screw-up in 2003 where he showed Brandon Prideaux two yellows without showing a red is recorded as if Prideaux was shown the red card for 2CT. Again, I did this for two reasons. One, there is an intentionally built-in constraint that disallows me from entering two yellow cards for the same player on the same date. Two, when the league made a disciplinary ruling, Prideaux was credited statistically with having been sent off and served a one match suspension so the numbers are consistent with official MLS statistics.
1996 SEASON Code: REGULAR SEASON [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Akbay, Zekai 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Angeles, Arturo 14 61 4.36 1 0.07 Baharmast, Esse 18 43 2.39 1 0.06 Boulos, Zimmerman 10 39 3.90 2 0.20 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 1 3 3.00 1 1.00 Dominguez, Raul 7 25 3.57 2 0.29 Gorog, Frank 8 25 3.13 4 0.50 Grady, Rich 10 42 4.20 3 0.30 Hall, Brian 9 21 2.33 2 0.22 Hepburn, John 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Noh, Byungil 1 7 7.00 0 0.00 Olson, Steve 3 7 2.33 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 11 40 3.64 1 0.09 Resendes, Edwin 2 10 5.00 2 1.00 Rodhas, Ruben 5 18 3.60 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 6 21 3.50 1 0.17 Sheker, Robert 4 10 2.50 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 12 49 4.08 2 0.17 Tamberino, Paul 7 11 1.57 0 0.00 Terry, Kevin 10 27 2.70 3 0.30 Van de Wyngard, Roberto 4 12 3.00 2 0.50 Weyland, Tim 11 36 3.27 2 0.18 Yonan, Marcel 5 10 2.00 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 160 522 3.26 29 0.18[/b] Code: PLAYOFFS [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Baharmast, Esse 4 11 2.75 0 0.00 Boulos, Zimmerman 1 6 6.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 3 18 6.00 1 0.33 Hall, Brian 3 8 2.67 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 1 5 5.00 2 2.00 Stott, Kevin 2 7 3.50 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 1 3 3.00 1 1.00 Weyland, Tim 2 7 3.50 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 17 65 3.82 4 0.24[/b] Code: OVERALL [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Akbay, Zekai 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Angeles, Arturo 14 61 4.36 1 0.07 Baharmast, Esse 22 54 2.45 1 0.05 Boulos, Zimmerman 11 45 4.09 2 0.18 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 1 3 3.00 1 1.00 Dominguez, Raul 7 25 3.57 2 0.29 Gorog, Frank 8 25 3.13 4 0.50 Grady, Rich 13 60 4.62 4 0.31 Hall, Brian 12 29 2.42 2 0.17 Hepburn, John 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Noh, Byungil 1 7 7.00 0 0.00 Olson, Steve 3 7 2.33 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 12 45 3.75 3 0.25 Resendes, Edwin 2 10 5.00 2 1.00 Rodhas, Ruben 5 18 3.60 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 6 21 3.50 1 0.17 Sheker, Robert 4 10 2.50 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 14 56 4.00 2 0.14 Tamberino, Paul 8 14 1.75 1 0.13 Terry, Kevin 10 27 2.70 3 0.30 Van de Wyngard, Roberto 4 12 3.00 2 0.50 Weyland, Tim 13 43 3.31 2 0.15 Yonan, Marcel 5 10 2.00 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 177 587 3.32 33 0.19[/b]
Been looking forward to this. Can't believe you've done all this work, but very glad you did. Looking year-by-year is going to be very interesting. Both for referee development/turnover and for statistical changes. Thoughts on 1996... There are several names I am not familiar with--at least not as MLS referees. Gorog and Van de Wyngard stand out, because they did several games each. Olson and Resendes were interesting cases, because they were FIFA ARs at the time, if I recall correctly. I knew Resendes did at least one middle, but I have no clue how or why those assignments were made. Wonder if it was a trial run, like Tamberino, but only he "stuck" in the middle. Playoff stats are interesting. I believe those were all FIFA referees, straight down the line, other than Tamberino and Grady (think Grady got his badge a couple years later). Patlak's stat line from the playoffs is somewhat interesting. Only name that I'm sort of surprised to not see here is Valenzuela... had thought he was in the league from the start, but obviously was wrong. Kennedy would also qualify, but he was a FIFA AR then, so likely he was only running lines.
Valenzuela and Kennedy ran lines in 1996 and 1997. Neither had a center before 1998. One immediate issue I've discovered is that I may have put Kevin Terry in for Raul Dominguez somewhere. There are also a few extra red cards but I *think* those are coach dismissals that were erroneously recorded in the facts and records book as red cards. Those kinds of mistakes are the biggest reason I decided to do this in the first place. Now I just need to track down the match in question...
I have four possibilities for a match that I've got Kevin Terry listed for that may have been Raul Dominguez. 4/14/1996 - Dallas Burn vs San Jose Clash 5/8/1996 - Tampa Bay Mutiny vs Kansas City Wiz 7/7/1996 - Colorado Rapids vs Columbus Crew 9/18/1996 - NY/NJ MetroStars vs Columbus Crew The 4/14 match is unlikely because Dominguez worked a match on 4/13. However, Terry did do matches on both 6/8 and 6/9 so it's not out of the question. I've confirmed the other three through www.archive.org. The 4/14 match had no listed referees, but was confirmed to be Terry through the 1997 media guide. Thus, either MLS' own fact and record book is wrong, or the box scores are wrong. Either one is pretty likely, sadly.
I think it's fascinating that Esse worked 22 matches in the season and only sent off 1 player. That is an extraordinarily low number, but on the other hand, this was back when you weren't allowed to give red cards, even when they were deserved. Still, a surprising statistic.
1997 SEASON Code: REGULAR SEASON [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Angeles, Arturo 10 27 2.70 2 0.20 Baharmast, Esse 16 46 2.88 2 0.13 Boulos, Zimmerman 5 27 5.40 2 0.40 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 6 21 3.50 3 0.50 Dominguez, Raul 10 26 2.60 2 0.20 Giordano, Alberto 2 4 2.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 10 37 3.70 5 0.50 Hall, Brian 14 32 2.29 1 0.07 Kamikawa, Toru 6 17 2.83 2 0.33 Kenny, Noel 8 25 3.13 0 0.00 Noh, Byungil 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 9 30 3.33 1 0.11 Ramirez, Refugio 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Reyes, Jorge 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 8 22 2.75 1 0.13 Sheker, Robert 2 4 2.00 1 0.50 Sill, Roger 1 5 5.00 1 1.00 Stott, Kevin 8 14 1.75 1 0.13 Tamberino, Paul 12 27 2.25 2 0.17 Terry, Kevin 11 27 2.45 5 0.45 Weselak, John 7 17 2.43 2 0.29 Weyland, Tim 10 33 3.30 4 0.40 Yonan, Marcel 2 6 3.00 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 160 457 2.86 37 0.23[/b] Code: PLAYOFFS [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Angeles, Arturo 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Baharmast, Esse 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 1 4 4.00 1 1.00 Hall, Brian 2 6 3.00 0 0.00 Kenny, Noel 2 5 2.50 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 2 8 4.00 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Terry, Kevin 1 3 3.00 1 1.00 Weyland, Tim 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 13 43 3.31 2 0.15[/b] Code: OVERALL [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Angeles, Arturo 11 29 2.64 2 0.18 Baharmast, Esse 17 50 2.94 2 0.12 Boulos, Zimmerman 5 27 5.40 2 0.40 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 6 21 3.50 3 0.50 Dominguez, Raul 10 26 2.60 2 0.20 Giordano, Alberto 2 4 2.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 11 41 3.73 6 0.55 Hall, Brian 16 38 2.38 1 0.06 Kamikawa, Toru 6 17 2.83 2 0.33 Kenny, Noel 10 30 3.00 0 0.00 Noh, Byungil 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Patlak, Joshua 10 34 3.40 1 0.10 Ramirez, Refugio 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Reyes, Jorge 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 8 22 2.75 1 0.13 Sheker, Robert 2 4 2.00 1 0.50 Sill, Roger 1 5 5.00 1 1.00 Stott, Kevin 10 22 2.20 1 0.10 Tamberino, Paul 13 31 2.38 2 0.15 Terry, Kevin 12 30 2.50 6 0.50 Weselak, John 7 17 2.43 2 0.29 Weyland, Tim 11 36 3.27 4 0.36 Yonan, Marcel 2 6 3.00 0 0.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 173 500 2.89 39 0.23[/b]
1998 SEASON Code: REGULAR SEASON [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Angeles, Arturo 5 12 2.40 0 0.00 Baharmast, Esse 9 36 4.00 5 0.56 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 6 15 2.50 1 0.17 Garcia Aranda, Jose Manuel 5 13 2.60 2 0.40 Giordano, Alberto 4 8 2.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 9 41 4.56 7 0.78 Hall, Brian 12 35 2.92 3 0.25 Heron, Richard 4 10 2.50 2 0.50 Hunt, Sandra 2 5 2.50 2 1.00 Kennedy, Michael 9 27 3.00 0 0.00 Kenny, Noel 15 46 3.07 2 0.13 Lay, Nancy 2 5 2.50 2 1.00 Paniaqua, Juan 5 30 6.00 6 1.20 Prus, Alex 7 23 3.29 1 0.14 Ramirez, Refugio 6 11 1.83 1 0.17 Rodhas, Ruben 5 22 4.40 4 0.80 Rutty, Reggie 4 14 3.50 2 0.50 Saheli, Ali 9 34 3.78 2 0.22 Sheker, Robert 6 18 3.00 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 17 48 2.82 4 0.24 Tamberino, Paul 13 36 2.77 2 0.15 Terry, Kevin 15 30 2.00 5 0.33 Valenzuela, Ricardo 6 29 4.83 4 0.67 Weyland, Tim 8 31 3.88 2 0.25 Yonan, Marcel 9 29 3.22 1 0.11 [b]ALL REFEREES 192 608 3.17 60 0.31[/b] Code: PLAYOFFS [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Covaciu-Woods, Ted 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 1 7 7.00 0 0.00 Hall, Brian 2 12 6.00 0 0.00 Kennedy, Michael 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Kenny, Noel 2 7 3.50 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 1 5 5.00 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 1 1 1.00 0 0.00 Terry, Kevin 3 12 4.00 0 0.00 Weyland, Tim 1 4 4.00 1 1.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 14 57 4.07 1 0.07[/b] Code: OVERALL [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Angeles, Arturo 5 12 2.40 0 0.00 Baharmast, Esse 9 36 4.00 5 0.56 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 7 17 2.43 1 0.14 Garcia Aranda, Jose Manuel 5 13 2.60 2 0.40 Giordano, Alberto 4 8 2.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 10 48 4.80 7 0.70 Hall, Brian 14 47 3.36 3 0.21 Heron, Richard 4 10 2.50 2 0.50 Hunt, Sandra 2 5 2.50 2 1.00 Kennedy, Michael 10 31 3.10 0 0.00 Kenny, Noel 17 53 3.12 2 0.12 Lay, Nancy 2 5 2.50 2 1.00 Paniaqua, Juan 5 30 6.00 6 1.20 Prus, Alex 7 23 3.29 1 0.14 Ramirez, Refugio 6 11 1.83 1 0.17 Rodhas, Ruben 5 22 4.40 4 0.80 Rutty, Reggie 4 14 3.50 2 0.50 Saheli, Ali 10 39 3.90 2 0.20 Sheker, Robert 6 18 3.00 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 18 51 2.83 4 0.22 Tamberino, Paul 14 37 2.64 2 0.14 Terry, Kevin 18 42 2.33 5 0.28 Valenzuela, Ricardo 6 29 4.83 4 0.67 Weyland, Tim 9 35 3.89 3 0.33 Yonan, Marcel 9 29 3.22 1 0.11 [b]ALL REFEREES 206 665 3.17 61 0.31[/b]
That is still something that sticks out in my mind after all these years. Keep in mind that I could only see the matches shown on ESPN back in 1996, but I think I went two months into that season without seeing a single player sent-off (I think it was Paul Caligiuri in a KC-Crew match). Things certainly have changed.
Anyway to identify the exchange referees? Kamikawa in 97 is obvious (though didn't realize it was that early)... ended up doing the 3/4 playoff in WC 2006. Garcia-Aranda is another, and it's interesting he was there in 1998. He worked the WC98 opener and a semifinal... you would think he'd have needed to be back in La Liga to prep for the tournament. Were any of the other guys in the first 3 years exchange referees? Interesting that Sandy Hunt and Nancy Lay gave two red cards each--I honestly don't remember that and had thought their matches passed without much incident. Grady's card figures definitely support the reputation he earned. And Baharmast's suddenly sky-rocketed in his WC year. Who was Juan Paniaqua? 6 reds in 5 matches sticks out.
I heard a rumor he has the record for cards shown in MLS. I was not familiar with his reputation otherwise. Can you elaborate? He was one of the big trainers at US Region II Regionals this year, and was a great guy to learn from.
His reputation was that he actually enforced the Laws. And that didn't sit well in the early days of MLS. I think he was one of the best we had. He seemed what I would label as Scottish in his approach: personal yet by the book. Kind of a cross between Prus and Toledo. Not sure of his age, but I think he'd still be eligible for his FIFA badge if he had been kept around.
1999 Code: REGULAR SEASON [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Barnes, Andrew 7 10 1.43 1 0.14 Bujsaim, Ali Mohamed 4 14 3.50 1 0.25 Corrie, Gerry 4 12 3.00 1 0.25 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 6 25 4.17 2 0.33 Dougal, Stuart 3 23 7.67 3 1.00 Giordano, Alberto 3 8 2.67 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 9 45 5.00 6 0.67 Hall, Brian 15 46 3.07 3 0.20 Heron, Richard 7 14 2.00 2 0.29 Hunt, Sandra 7 26 3.71 0 0.00 Kennedy, Michael 6 20 3.33 2 0.33 Kenny, Noel 14 42 3.00 6 0.43 Lay, Nancy 4 8 2.00 0 0.00 Matsumura, Kazuhiko 4 11 2.75 0 0.00 Perry, Todd 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Prus, Alex 7 20 2.86 4 0.57 Quisenberry, Kermit 2 6 3.00 0 0.00 Rodhas, Ruben 3 5 1.67 1 0.33 Rutty, Reggie 5 16 3.20 3 0.60 Saheli, Ali 10 42 4.20 2 0.20 Sanchez, Francisco 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Seitz, Kari 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Sheker, Robert 6 13 2.17 2 0.33 Stott, Kevin 13 30 2.31 3 0.23 Sun Baojie 4 25 6.25 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 14 38 2.71 2 0.14 Terry, Kevin 8 17 2.13 1 0.13 Valenzuela, Ricardo 10 38 3.80 5 0.50 Weyland, Tim 7 22 3.14 3 0.43 Yonan, Marcel 7 17 2.43 1 0.14 [b]ALL REFEREES 192 602 3.14 54 0.28[/b] Code: PLAYOFFS [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Barnes, Andrew 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 1 5 5.00 0 0.00 Hall, Brian 2 13 6.50 0 0.00 Kenny, Noel 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Saheli, Ali 1 5 5.00 0 0.00 Stott, Kevin 2 13 6.50 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Valenzuela, Ricardo 3 12 4.00 2 0.67 Weyland, Tim 3 11 3.67 0 0.00 Yonan, Marcel 1 4 4.00 1 1.00 [b]ALL REFEREES 16 72 4.50 3 0.19[/b] Code: OVERALL [b]Referee Matches Yellow Y/Game Reds R/Game[/b] Barnes, Andrew 8 13 1.63 1 0.13 Bujsaim, Ali Mohamed 4 14 3.50 1 0.25 Corrie, Gerry 4 12 3.00 1 0.25 Covaciu-Woods, Ted 6 25 4.17 2 0.33 Dougal, Stuart 3 23 7.67 3 1.00 Giordano, Alberto 3 8 2.67 0 0.00 Grady, Rich 10 50 5.00 6 0.60 Hall, Brian 17 59 3.47 3 0.18 Heron, Richard 7 14 2.00 2 0.29 Hunt, Sandra 7 26 3.71 0 0.00 Kennedy, Michael 6 20 3.33 2 0.33 Kenny, Noel 15 46 3.07 6 0.40 Lay, Nancy 4 8 2.00 0 0.00 Matsumura, Kazuhiko 4 11 2.75 0 0.00 Perry, Todd 1 4 4.00 0 0.00 Prus, Alex 7 20 2.86 4 0.57 Quisenberry, Kermit 2 6 3.00 0 0.00 Rodhas, Ruben 3 5 1.67 1 0.33 Rutty, Reggie 5 16 3.20 3 0.60 Saheli, Ali 11 47 4.27 2 0.18 Sanchez, Francisco 1 3 3.00 0 0.00 Seitz, Kari 1 2 2.00 0 0.00 Sheker, Robert 6 13 2.17 2 0.33 Stott, Kevin 15 43 2.87 3 0.20 Sun Baojie 4 25 6.25 0 0.00 Tamberino, Paul 15 40 2.67 2 0.13 Terry, Kevin 8 17 2.13 1 0.13 Valenzuela, Ricardo 13 50 3.85 7 0.54 Weyland, Tim 10 33 3.30 3 0.30 Yonan, Marcel 8 21 2.63 2 0.25 [b]ALL REFEREES 208 674 3.24 57 0.27[/b]
Official stat book seems to think Kevin Terry had 24 yellows in 1999 as opposed to the 17 I found. Weird.
Bujsaim, Dougal, Matsumura and Sun were all exchanges, I believe (positive on all but Matsumura). Dougal had an infamous game in Chicago, I think. I totally forgot about Andrew Barnes. He appeared, got a bunch of matches, almost immediately got his FIFA badge (2001?) and then disappeared. No idea what the story is behind his rise and fall, but I imagine there must be one. Prus' red card count in his first year is interesting, given the reputation he developed later. Also interesting to note that Quisenberry did the "reverse-Kennedy" and got matches as a CR before switching to the AR role. Finally... 30 referees in a league that had 12 teams at the time seems like a terribly high amount. I know there were exchanges and MLS and USSF were still trying to identify who fit best at the top. Plus you had other issues going on. But maybe the amount of turnover and lack of familiarity was also an issue. It's something I hadn't thought of before.
I was looking forward to Dougal's stats. Coming from a league like Scotland's and averaging over seven cautions shows how brutal MLS was. I still think, to this day, that MLS uses too many referees and that this prevents them from gaining the experience they need. In a 18 team league I think 30 is borderline excessive, back then it was far too many. If the top referees aren't getting 25+ matches a year, it's no wonder the quality of the referees seems to lag behind the players. I understand there are political and practical reasons for having a larger pool and we have friendlies and such that siphon off matches, but improvement is born out of experience.
Gorog lived in Seattle, and I think he was Polish or Hungarian. He was one of the older referees that year, but was known as one of the players favorite refs. He did the 4th of July game that year in the Rose Bowl, which is probably one of the most attended MLS matches ever.
I understand Barnes became ill, not sure what the diagnosis was, but he was not able to continue refereeing. I don't know much about his rise. He was from Louisiana, and IIRC, the Chairman of the Referees' Committee at that time was also from Louisiana. Prus obviously realized what it would take to survive in the league and modified his approach to the extreme, IMO! PH
Perhaps Baharmast got "re-educated" at the WC and started to apply this in the MLS. Besides it was his last year,before retiring, so he had nothing to lose by not following the dictates of the league and so could apply TLOG correctly. Which, in MLS would produce a lot of red cards! PH
I have ARs for all seasons. 4ths are spotty at best until 2003 when MLS started regularly including them on the summaries. I will be presenting the data that I have for that after I'm done with the referees. It won't be anything but number of assignments, though.