We all know you have a signed photo of Peter Walton on your desk. Or has Howard replaced him in that place of honor.
Rivas had two penalty kicks against the home team, one 50 seconds into the game and one via video review.
I'd say absolutely, especially the first one which was an obvious careless trip. The video review was for deliberate handling so that one comes with all the usual controversy, but I thought it was the correct decision. Rivas was screened in real time as he'd moved wide as he neared the penalty area but failed to keep his sight lines clear. AR on that side also had a crowd of bodies to see through. I doubt either could have seen the handling well enough to give the penalty without the assistance of the VAR so in the spirit of things, it was a good review.
I would say both of his PK decisions were correct- but he didn’t do a very good job overall. He was having trouble selling his calls and he let some of the trifling stuff build up. Adrian Heath (Minnesota coach) was quoted as saying he was going to call Howard Webb first thing on Monday morning. I think Rivas has the potential to be a good MLS referee, but he probably needs a little more development in USL first.
Is there an actual detailed explanation or video of what "negligible force" actually looks like, because a lot of people could say this appears to be negligible?
Rivas was busy, as noted. It seems like Touchan had the exact opposite sort of debut. I've heard nothing about that match from a refereeing perspective.
So PRO says that it was a deflection, but also that they got view from top FIFA ARs where there was a consensus of deflection, but not everyone agreed. They also say (with zero explanation) that it was right to reverse with VAR.