One additional match ban will be handed down to Rooney for the forearm to the head. He already sat one out last Saturday. Maybe the MLS could eventually come around to 3 matches for violent conduct. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/26/wayne-rooney-suspended-another-dc-united-match/
The potential Seattle handling in Portland was covered by this week's Instant Replay (https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019...ashpoints-galore-instant-replay?autoplay=true starting at about 4:26). This play didn't result in a PK and VAR didn't call for a review. What are the differences between this play and the one in Salt Lake?
In Salt Lake, the defender literally has his hand stuck outward from his body with his palm open as he squares to challenge the defender. He's taken away a passing or shooting lane by deliberately stretching his arm there. Nothing about it appears natural. It's a deliberate handball and he doesn't receive a 'get out of jail card' because the ball happened to strike his thigh first. The situation in Portland is much different. We have a cross that comes from significant distance and a jumping attempt to trap or play it with the thigh. The ball then deflects off the thigh to an arm that is in a totally normal place. The arm isn't deliberately placed there to take away space and there's no deliberate movement of the arm to the ball after the deflection. The updated laws are written to explicitly ensure this type of play is not called and that's a codification of recent practice and instruction. If a player misplays a ball and it hits his hand when that hand is not above shoulder-height, it's not an offence (unless, of course, it leads to a goal or goal-scoring opportunity--but that's a different discussion). That's what happened in Portland. That's not what happened in Salt Lake.
Just noticed this, but on the Rooney red, Elfath reached for his back pocket, even though his red was in his front. Ref nerd thing here, but 2 options: 1. He put his card in the wrong pocket (in which case, fun moment of panic before finding it). 2. He keeps it top front (a la Stott), but reached for his back just because players and commentators expect that as a sort of pre-symbol to the send-off. FWIW, I carry mine in by front short pocket, but never occurred to me to do a feint to the back pocket to broadcast a coming red. Or perhaps Elfath just got confused.
Hearing that Gressel will NOT be suspended for this weekend vs @PhilaUnion ...the consistency of the “retro ref’ing” in @MLS is extremely difficult to follow. Hands to the face, open hand punch/slap......@ATLUTD dodge a big one with a huge game this weekend if it’s true. #MLS https://t.co/HscRCHBJ09— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) August 30, 2019
WTF. It couldn’t be easier to do something about that, it’s almost like their goal is to keep people unsettled.
For the DisCo to act there has to be unanimous agreement that it was a red card AND that it warranted an additional game suspension. They only have 2-games or none. I suspect there wasn’t agreement this warranted 2 games. Also, I understand the VAR just never looked at or saw the right camera, which accounts for the miss. That’s bad. But at least a VAR didn’t look at this and say “no, that’s not clearly a red.”
I'm really hoping the number of players who got away with clearly red card offenses this season with only a fine (if anything) due to the DisCo not feeling like they deserved 2 games of suspension for the action forces them to change this requirement next season.
I'm doubtful. With VAR in place it almost has to have a higher standard than just "VAR missed it." Maybe next year MLS will join the real world with mandatory multi-game suspensions for VC. And maybe total world peace and harmony will break out tomorrow across the globe.
Why? At least for violent conduct? Yeah, I get that they don't want to re-officiate if that tackle was really a red or a yellow but we have punches, headbutts, and other such "non-game action" events going essentially unpunished because the DisCo doesn't want to give out two game suspensions for them.
To me this stinks to high heaven because Katai was recently given an additional game for a very, very similar act that was caught via video review. It's a little too blatantly inconsistent IMO. Even without referencing Katai, is this really that much different from the one in that SKC-CLB game last year that wasn't sent down? Martinez got two games for that one from the DisCo.
Because implementing for "run of the mill" VC pretty much suggests a lack of faith in VAR. I wasn't meaning to suggest you couldn't have it--just that I can't see MLS making that decision. Were I the MLS czar, I'd abandon the DisCo and the other one (I forget what it is called). I confess I don't follow nearly as closely as many on here, but they seem so woefully inconsistent and troubling that (especially now that VAR is there) the league would be better off accepting the old "referee decision is final, no exceptions" model than the lottery of post game appeals.
Well guess what, now that these actions are happening, and going unpunished, multiple times a month there's pretty much a lack of faith in the whole MLS disciplinary process.
Watching USL League One match between TUC vs CHT. It's 1-0 with 1 minute left at 90+3. There's a foul and the yellow card gets shown but CHT want to play it fast. But the ref quickly stops that and slows down the tempo to card the player. I thought the new law was that the ref has to let play go quickly if the opposing team want to quickly take the kick (which they did) and then card the player after play is finished? Unless that law applies to next season..?
As far as I know, USL is still using the 2018/2019 Laws so this would not apply. Otherwise, it's also important to note that the quick restart must occur prior to the referee beginning the process of cautioning the offender. Can't have the yellow or notebook in hand, for example. Otherwise, the players expect and must be given a whistle to restart play.
And what have you observed that makes you think that is a problem that MLS has any interest in fixing? I’m not disagreeing with you in the sense I think it would be a bad idea. I think MLS should join the world with multi game suspensions for VC and should suspend players who get away with it. I just don’t see any sense that MLS is remotely interested in doing that, and certainly not in a way that undercuts VAR.