On closer examination I do think that it's a hard tackle. Considering that I see where ManiacalClown is coming from, this was worthy of a yellow. The fact he injured himself is inconsequential, though highly unfortunate.
Friedel's commentary on all fouls in the game was a disaster. He has proven himself to be one of the worst at adjudicating a decision and at keeping up with LOTG changes - some that are 10+ years old. Do not let Friedel's repeated statements of no contact here sway your opinion. It's a reminder that the TV analysts influence a large amount of public perception. It took him 4 views of the previous play to see that there was knee-to-knee contact. John Strong does a good job of presenting things neutrally, but when he works with Friedel, he has to bite his tongue much more frequently. "Brad, they hit knees - how can you not see it?!" or "Brad, Van Damme clearly missed the ball - do you expect Guzman to get himself hurt or jump over it?!" would have been perfectly acceptable from Strong in my mind. Van Damme went in recklessly. There is no doubt about that. Why on earth is Friedel focusing on the amount of contact, when Van Damme clearly - CLEARLY - missed the ball, which is right there? Why don't we focus on the amount of contact with the ball? Not that that would absolve any foul, but it would at least give a better place to start the discussion on what this play actually entails. Guzman was avoiding Van Damme's reckless challenge. There is no way we should expect someone to keep their feet knowing that they are going to get tackled by an opponent. There is no way we should let that affect our judgment. Separately, whether the amount of embellishment is nil or substantive is something that the DisCo will have to figure out. I'm not anywhere near 100% that it would fit my criteria.
Stott officiates at LA quite often, and several other of the PRO guys work games in their home states as well. Nothing out of the ordinary here. for MLS matches. PH
Reffing in the coldest game (19 degrees) in MLS history in snow, does Elfath really think the players will think less of him if he's wearing a woolen skull cap? For the fans it looks cool, but he clearly confused and threw off the AR. At the time Nikolic shoots at the top of the penalty area, the AR actually STILL had his flag up.
For those scoring at home, Simon Borg believes there were 16 red card offences this weekend. That probably doesn't need any additional commentary. But it's interesting to note that of the three actually awarded, he disagrees with one (Van Damme). Also, the one incident I identified above (where Ciman probably committed DOGSO) was not included in the aforementioned 16 incidents. Fear not, Borg found two more ways by which Ciman should have seen red. To be fair, Borg is absolutely right on a couple of them. And he at least has a case in several more instances. But this sort of sensationalism doesn't help refereeing. Instant Replay is a double-edged sword. It's one thing to highlight good calls and to offer deserve criticism of clear misses. But suggesting 16 red cards in a weekend--14 of them which were allegedly missed? Not sure how that builds confidence in league officiating for the more dedicated fans who likely watch this weekly video.
Here's Borg Instant Replay for those that haven't seen it yet. Quite remarkable that Ciman stayed on the pitch. How many chances was he going to get? But then again, that's probably why Kelly is only ahead of Marrufo in terms of who gets the top games in MLS week in and week out. Maybe @ManiacalClown could help here, but when exactly was the last time Marrufo gave second caution sending off in an MLS game? I might be completely wrong here, but I think this might be the last time which is quite remarkable.
He gave a player two YCs in a game several years ago, but did not send him off, claiming that it was a different player who got the first one. He was told by the 4th official and the AR-1, but still let the player stay on the pitch. All 4 officials were suspended from further MLS play that season. The two ARs never came back, (AR-2 was never involved one way or the other), the 4th eventually came back many years later and was a referee for short time. PH
http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...alaxy-vs-portland-timbers/details/video/97651 Something interesting about this clip of the VanDamme red card. He makes a motion to someone - I presume the 4th official - to check the video replay. Also I noticed that while he was animated that he had been unfairly sent off, he stayed away from Toledo. I think you have to give him some credit there.
The OS play is the play of the week: http://www.proreferees.com/news-play-of-the-week-2017-week-2.php
On Borg's video near the end, we see another example of the hand or arm touching the ball of a defender while in a slide tackle position inside the penalty area that is not called. In that case, are we listening to Esse Baharmast at the National Camp who says whistle for a PK (see thread for discussion on this topic) or are we going by these two weeks examples and "play on"?