2019 MLS Week 22 Referee Thread

Congratulations to Rosendo on his first assigned MLS center

 

So the All-Star game happened last night and I saw the highlights and it looks like the Reserve AR walked out with the crew last night.



Have to say that's pretty silly. I get MLS and PRO want to make the All-Star game more prestigious than it is. It's just a glorified summer pre-season game, but Reserve ARs don't walk out with the crew. There barely part of the crew. At the World Cup, where it is most common, they just sit in a track-suit in the technical area.

Also, it looks like some of the MLS players were wearing earpieces last night. Anyone know what that is about. Surely that violates the Laws of the Game? Not that it matters...

 

That reserve AR went into that game in the second half so I wouldn’t say he wasn’t part of the crew. It’s also an incredible honor being selected, one all 7 officials should be recognized for.

 

They were interviewing players during the game. Against the law but that is par for the course for MLS All Star Games
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...d-during-2019-mls-all-star-game?autoplay=true

 

Sorry I know I commented early but I read your post and got mad all over again. I don’t imagine you are an MLS official or that you worked over 20 years of your life to ref that “glorified pre-season” game. When you get there, you are welcome to take a stand and pretend that it didn’t mean anything but I promise you it does

 

Just because you put the name of the game on the referee jersey doesn't make it important.

I'm sure the officials would rather be chosen for the game than not, but I guarantee you there isn't an official out there setting goals for themselves saying "boy, I really hope I get to officiate the MLS All-Star game this year."

Ask any of the officials and you give them a choice and say "you can either referee the MLS All-Star game or an MLS playoff game, but not both. Pick one." I guarantee you every single one would take the playoff game or at least I hope they would.

No official goes into the World Cup hoping and excited to refereeing the Third Place game.

I read Howard Webb's book and he talked about the being in the room for the announcement of the assignment for the Third Place game and the World Cup Final. He said it was such a relief when his name wasn't called for the Third Place game and he saw the look of disappointment from Archundia (who was assigned to the Third Place game).

Also, I heard that privately Archundia and the Mexican Federation were privately furious with FIFA as Archundia was kept away from any knockout game only to referee the Third Place game.

No NBA official has their eyes set on officiating the NBA All-Star game. No NFL official hopes to referee the Pro Bowl, except maybe when they used to have it in Hawaii (which means you won't referee the Super Bowl).

Anyways, regardless of how I feel about the prestige and the importance of the assignment, let's say for arguments sake that it is a prestigious and important assignment. You still don't see the Reserve AR walk out with the crew on the World Cup Final or Champions League Final or MLS Cup Final (maybe that will change this year). That's my whole point in my comment originally.

It goes against all tradition and practicality. In most European leagues and the Championship League, the 4th official doesn't walk out with the crew, so why should the Reserve AR? It's like giving everyone a participation trophy.

Lastly, if it is so important you wouldn't just put the Reserve AR arbitrarily in the second half just because. I'm assuming whoever he replaced in the second half was planned and not due to an actual injury. If he was actually hurt than I'm sorry.

Yeah, such a prestigious assignment that you get taken out in the second half just because. Why stop there? Put in the 4th in the second half.

 

I can say that the All-Star Game, for all its weirdness, has always been an indicator of which referees are well-regarded. The list of referees who have been on the game is a real who's who.

While I would personally prefer a playoff game if I absolutely had to choose, I can't ignore the exclusive company who have worked the ASG, and I'm betting it would feel pretty damn good to see one's name on that list.

Sure, the game itself is meaningless, but it's intended as a showcase. Why not showcase the referees, too?

 

I think in the first 10-15 years of MLS, where there were so few nationally televised games and so few games in packed/sold out stadiums that the assignment was absolutely prestigious. Other than the MLS Cup Final, I think the All-Star game might have been the only other game that was on national TV/free over the air TV like ABC.

From a league coverage standpoint, the All-Star was maybe the second most important game on the MLS calender so I get why MLS would want their best referees on that game and why referees would want that assignment.

Now there are at least one or two games on national TV almost every week in MLS and in front of huge crowds and stadiums.

 

Look, I grant that a ref would rather have a play off game than the all star game. That's true. I don't care about the dynamic of a third place game, but I'd also take the comments of a guy who literally got to do the final with a huge grain of salt when he says he was relieved he didn't get to do the 3rd place game. Also, I don't care if the reserve AR walks out with the crew or not.

But for MLS officials, its pretty cool to do the all star game. Most years, all the PRO officials are in town for it. They stay together, have training together, eat together. Then a few of them get to go officiate the game that the rest of them are all watching. As in physically in the stadium watching. Some years, there are more officials at the All Star game than any other time. Granted not every ref wants to work a game in front of his peers, just as there are many refs who might rather sit and not do any game than do a third place game. But there is a certain psyche to most referees that wants the game, wants to be the one working in front of all of the other officials. Its pretty cool.

Plus they get cool swag.
Plus there is obviously a collection of "the best players" in the league, and its super cool to be an official selected to be "one of the best officials" in the league. They players remember that, and when you see them later in the year, you were the guy who did the All star Game. Its not worth much, but it is worth something.
But the real point is its cool to be the officials that are selected from the group that everyone else gets to go watch. I mean, its a rodeo, but its a fun rodeo.

 

I can only speak for myself, but as a fan of the sport I’d be pretty excited to officiate a game with a well-known European team like Athletico Madrid. I’d want to do well to show that US/Canadian officials should be looked at more for big FIFA matches. I get it’s a glorified friendly, but I’m sure a big missed call related to an injury of a big name wouldn’t go over well in FIFA’s eyes.

 

One’s goals are different than one’s honors so your argument makes no sense. Also the replacement was not contrived or planned but please continue to educate me on things you know nothing about

 

Your other points aside, it always seemed like a wasted opportunity and waste of manpower to have the Reserve AR sit there and do nothing. I could think of some heated games with big personalities on the sideline that could've benefited from having the "Fifth Official" help out with managing the benches and such. In the world of VAR, there's less need for them to help out with misconduct, but I believe my point still stands.

 

I don't know about you all but I watch USL more than MLS (but I watch both ...) and I've been seeing a lot of good things from Kevin Broadley. He's been doing really well in the USL.

 

I clearly said in my post "if he genuinely got hurt than I'm sorry."

So did he get hurt or sick? What was the reason for the change? I didn't watch the game so, you're right I don't know anything about the game. Tell me since you know more than me.

Besides, you're the one that moved the goal posts anyways. My main point was always how silly, redundant and unnecessary it was for the Reserve AR to walk out with the crew. The importance of All-Star and the prestige of the assignment was secondary.

I don't think my opinion about its importance is totally unreasonable and outlandish. Just because a league and organization says something is prestigious doesn't make it so.

You want to put it on some grand pedestal go for it. I won't think you're horribly in the wrong. I think you're wrong, but it's not some crazy opinion.

I would have said the same thing (about the Reserve AR walking out) whether it was the World Cup Final, MLS Cup Final, Champions League Final or MLS-Allstar game.

Again, tell me why the RAR should walk out with the crew? Why not also bring out the AVAR and the VAR as well (we all know why because it might take them 15 minutes to get back up to the press box).

 

The 2019 MLS All-Star Game drew just 182,000 viewers on FS1, a record low.

It was also on FS1 in 2015 and 2017, and drew an average of about 500k those years. That’s a gigantic dip. pic.twitter.com/yn5vIsV7r2

— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) August 3, 2019

Just cause we're discussing the "importance" of the all star game. The fans don't seem to think it's important.

 

I hope Penso had a better angle of that handling than what ESPN showed us

 

Especially given how demonstrative Penso was at first. Not one of those angles showed helped the case that he was wrong initially. And, for what it’s worth MNUFC coach after the match seemed to think they got a gift.

Minnesota coach Adrian Heath called the PK dubious: “I thought we got a dubious penalty in the last minute... I feel for them a little bit because I know if we’d had been on the receiving end of the penalty, it would’ve been probably a little bit disappointing.

 

I don't want to get political here so mods delete this if it's crossing that line...

When a player expresses a political belief on a shirt, or parades around with a certain flag or what have you, referees are supposed to do something about it. Bedoya took a new route and used one of the on field microphones to make a political statement. Video here.

https://streamable.com/7at6w

The head of the MLSPA made a statement on this matter. I'm wondering if PRO has an opinion about this, or maybe the league?

Statement from MLSPA Executive Director Bob Foose:

“On this tragic weekend, on behalf of all MLS players I want to express my full support for @AleBedoya17’s exercise of free speech. To paraphrase his post-game comments, before our members are soccer players, they are people.”

— MLSPA (@MLSPA) August 5, 2019

 

Anyone know how on Earth Petrescu decided not to award a penalty kick to FC Dallas for handling after going to the monitor? It looks like he somehow decided to go with foul coming out.

Most obvious handball I've seen in a long time.

 

* Aggressive, straight-legged, sliding with studs up foul from Mattarita on Seba Saucedo in stoppage time on Saturday at Rio Tinto = yellow?

* Stomp on Espinoza's ankle by the Crew's David Accam in minute 75, nowhere near the ball and with what looks like intent or perhaps just laziness = yellow?

 

I've had to watch it 10 times to see the shirt pulling. I don't agree with it being pretty consequential, but we all know there are now pretty different standards for a foul coming out and a foul for a penalty kick in the VAR world.

He was going already to handle the ball anyways and it's not like the shirt pull put him off balance, but I digress.

That would never be given as a penalty kick if he did that on the attacker. We've seen far worse acts by defenders not punished and supported by PRO to not award a penalty kick.

If you're going to micro analyze every decision like that, then you couldn't make the argument that the Orlando defender fouled the Dallas attacker first with the "two-hand" push on the back of the Dallas forward? Again, completely trifling and inconsequential for me, but so is the shirt pull.

Classic example of re-refereeing the game here.