The assignments for Week 15 of the 2018 Major League Soccer season: 06/08/2018 Philadelphia Union v Toronto FC Talen Energy Stadium (8PM ET) REF: BALDOMERO TOLEDO AR1: EDUARDO MARISCAL AR2: BRIAN DUNN 4TH: MARCOS DEOLIVEIRA VAR: JORGE GONZALEZ 06/09/2018 New York City FC v Atlanta United Yankee Stadium (12:30PM ET) REF: ROBERT SIBIGA AR1: ERIC WEISBROD AR2: CJ MORGANTE 4TH: SILVIU PETRESCU VAR: EDVIN JURISEVIC Columbus Crew v New York Red Bulls MAPFRE Stadium (5PM ET) REF: ALAN KELLY AR1: MATTHEW NELSON AR2: LOGAN BROWN 4TH: RUBIEL VAZQUEZ VAR: JON FREEMON Vancouver Whitecaps v Orlando City BC Place (7PM ET) REF: JOSE CARLOS RIVERO AR1: BRIAN POESCHEL AR2: CHRIS WATTAM 4TH: DAVE GANTAR VAR: GEOFF GAMBLE FC Dallas v Montreal Impact Toyota Stadium (8PM ET) REF: NIMA SAGHAFI AR1: APOLINAR MARISCAL AR2: MICHAEL KAMPMEINERT 4TH: FOTIS BAZAKOS VAR: GUIDO GONZALEZ Chicago Fire v New England Revolution Toyota Park (8:30PM ET) REF: KEVIN STOTT AR1: PETER BALCIUNAS AR2: JEREMY KIESO 4TH: KEVIN BROADLEY VAR: JORGE GONZALEZ Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids BBVA Compass Stadium (9PM ET) REF: DREW FISCHER AR1: PETER MANIKOWSKI AR2: DANNY THORNBERRY 4TH: ELVIS OSMANOVIC VAR: DAVID BARRIE Seattle Sounders v D.C. United CenturyLink Field (10PM ET) REF: SORIN STOICA AR1: IAN ANDERSON AR2: JOSE DA SILVA 4TH: DANIEL RADFORD VAR: YOUNES MARRAKCHI LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake StubHub Center (10:30PM ET) REF: TED UNKEL AR1: KYLE ATKINS AR2: JEFFREY GREESON 4TH: ALEJANDRO MARISCAL VAR: KEVIN TERRY JR Portland Timbers v Sporting Kansas City Providence Park (10:30PM ET) REF: CHRISTOPHER PENSO AR1: JEREMY HANSON AR2: JEFF HOSKING 4TH: JOSEPH DICKERSON VAR: ALEX CHILOWICZ San Jose Earthquakes v Los Angeles FC Avaya Stadium (10:30PM ET) REF: HILARIO GRAJEDA AR1: CAMERON BLANCHARD AR2: NICK URANGA 4TH: MALIK BADAWI VAR: LUIS GUARDIA
From what my google searching finds it looks like we have two new faces in the league this week, both of whom come in having done middles in both the NWSL and USL Chicago Fire v New England Revolution Toyota Park (8:30PM ET) 4TH: KEVIN BROADLEY Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids BBVA Compass Stadium (9PM ET) 4TH: ELVIS OSMANOVIC
Speaking of new faces... Bethlehem Steel v Louisville City Goodman Stadium (5PM ET) 4TH: JAY HUTCHINSON Congratulations to one of our own! I think that's his first USL assignment, but I could be late to the party...
I notice Jorge G. back on at not one, but two VAR's this cycle. I'm not sure what the consequence is for blowing a VAR as badly as he did two weeks ago...I know he was replaced last week, but I suppose for someone like Gonzalez (or Marrufo or Stott, etc.) the negative consequence for poor VAR work is having to keep doing it. PRO can't afford to bench them, and these guys would way rather be a 4th or in the middle than up in the booth. It reminds me of the husband who breaks dishes he dries so he doesn't have to dry them.
Checked in US Soccer GameOfficials using the Reports feature, it lists 12 prior USL assignments for said member. On the PRO website the USL assignment archives for past years are inaccessible for some reason.
There is an official matrix for VAR scoring, so the real consequence is still getting fired and/or losing all assignments. Your point about PRO not being able to afford to bench a VAR is pretty spot-on. In reality, as we've alluded to, until the new trialists start appearing more regularly, PRO can't afford to bench anyone. So removal from an assignment on a short notice a pretty big deal. I think the one thing I disagree with you on is VARs wanting to be between the benches instead of in the booth. Maybe there are exceptions, based on personalities, but I tend to think most PRO members would rather be in the booth helping with major decisions as opposed to sitting between two MLS coaches and babysitting. The only real reason to prefer a 4th over a VAR is if you're a younger official who hasn't had a middle (like Gonzales Jr. or Guardia) because in that scenario it's a stepping stone to a whistle. Also, as an aside, remember that some of the exclusively-assigned VARs are being tasked with that role because they haven't passed fitness yet.
Speaking of that, there's still one referee trial slot to be used by PRO this season. Curious if it will be another game for Dickerson/Touchan/Rivas or if one of those others gets the call this year.
This gets into some CBA stuff, but I believe Dickerson (and Gonzales Jr.) essentially have to be hired into the bargaining unit now (or have already been hired in) based on the number of assignments and type of assignments they've had or are about to have. So, theoretically, PRO could argue that Dickerson's middles were no longer "trialist" spots, which would in turn re-open them for some more experimentation. Not sure what PSRA's official position would be on that, though.
Thought Broadley worked earlier. Osmanovic I worked with him a few years and I hope he does better this time than he did with my DA coach. He screamed and threw a water bottle 3 times and 2 times kicked the tent.
Yeah your right and if you want to be your own judge what his Miami United vs Orlando city open cup match.
I meant to say this last week, but I saw Dickerson center the Thorns - Courage match and thought he did an excellent job. Hope to see him continue to grow.
The opening goal between Dallas and Montreal is very interesting. A FK comes in and two Dallas players are in an offside position. The flag goes up as the ball ends up in the net. VAR gets involved and we eventually end up with a good goal. The replay shows the ball bounced off of two Montreal defenders and bounced in for an own goal. The question becomes if one of the two players in an offside position interfered with an opponent. I'm really surprised that this goal was awarded. For me it meets the definition of challenging an opponent and it was correctly called offside live. I feel strongly that this wasn't a clear and obvious error. I will note that the center did not look at the video and took the advice of the VAR. Thoughts? https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/m...allas-vs-montreal-impact/details/video/157456 Just so were on the same page, here is what PRO talks about for challenging an opponent. In this Part 1 section we are going to look at the meaning of "challenging an opponent" for the ball. In regards to an offside situation, three elements need to be present to meet the criteria for challenging an opponent Attempts to play Playing distance Action that has impact A player is offside if he clearly attempts to play a ball which is close to him when this action impacts on an opponent. In this case, I think the attempt to play the ball and playing distance is met. Could we argue that the action didn't impact an opponent?
Just out of curiousity, does anyone know if/when Jurisevic is returning to on field duty? I don’t think he’s done anything in the last 3 years outside of a couple friendlies so I was wondering if anyone knew if he will ever return to centering in the MLS.
My initial thought is I agree with you. It’s close. But I think challenging an opponent is at least defensible, if not outright correct. I can understand an argument that it was not “challenging” and that the player in an OSP did not make an action that had a clear impact, but that’s subjective and gray—certainly not “clearly wrong.” This is another good example of VR leading to more inconsistency, rather than establishing consistency.
My understanding is that he wants to return but a nagging injury prevents him from passing fitness. So he’s VAR-only for now. If and when he can pass fitness, PRO will be obligated to assign him some middles.
It will ne interesting to see if this shows up in PRO’s weekly AR review. I’m with the AR on this—it looks to me like the OSP attacker makes contact with the defender that plays the ball. I don’t see how that can be anything other than interfering with an opponent.
We don't get a good look, but I don't think there was contact. It's probably the reason why the VAR felt he could say the offside player didn't have an impact on the opponent.
Another one we can debate comes from LA-RSL. Potential DOGSO, but Unkel went yellow. So two questions: is DOGSO the preferred call? If so, is it clear enough to recommend a review? No review was made in this instance.
I think it's very close. I think DOGSO may just barely be the preferred call and I don't think it was clear enough for VAR to get involved no matter what Unkel gave.