Just happened to catch this month-old MLS press release that, for the first time in a few years, announces the referee pool. It also, for the first time ever I believe, gives a glimpse into who is specifically being looked at for future duty, as it lists the fourth officials and regional assistant referees: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20050401&content_id=25375&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp The numbers in parentheses next to the referees, which are supposed to indicate the number of years a referee has been in the league, are not exactly accurate, as they take into account any association with the league--not just working as a CR. Some of the guys worked as 4ths while they had their state badges back when the league started and USSF allowed that, while others like Vaughn made the switch from AR to CR a few years ago. It's also a good document for speculating who might be up for the next FIFA badges.
Wouldn't you look for refs (either CR or ARs) who handle both the "prestige" or playoffs games and are assigned to the toughest "friendly" matches (those where Nationals can do the game)? I find it interesting they have a larger number of referees than the EPL. Are any of the MLS refs hitting mandatory retirement in the next year or two? I'm thinking that Brian Hall is getting very close.
Yes, but you've also got to look at who has survived the longest in MLS without getting their FIFA (and is still age-eligible). I can think of two guys who were considered favorites for FIFA badges who made their league debut and crashed out within a two year span. Conversely, guys like Salazar, Vaughn and Prus all recently got their badges after 4+ years of continuous work in the league. Since MLS referees aren't professional, you need a bigger list to make sure you have enough referees available on a given weekend. No such problem in the EPL. Kevin Terry is off the FIFA list (replaced by Salazar), and Hall and Kennedy come off at the end of next season. USSF doesn't have a mandatory retirement age for nationals, though, so retired FIFAs can stay on in the league (Terry being a current example).
Both Terry and Saheli came off the list, but only Salazar has been added. The current list from FIFA: HALL Brian 1992 05.06.1961 KENNEDY Michael 1999 16.04.1961 PRUS Arkadiusz 2004 06.02.1964 SALAZAR Ricardo 2005 06.09.1972 STOTT Kevin 1995 09.07.1967 VALENZUELA Ricardo 1999 07.02.1964 VAUGHN Terry 2004 01.04.1973 AR's BARKEY Gregory 1995 20.08.1963 CLEMENT Nathan 1999 02.04.1961 DAVIDSON Steven 2003 02.05.1967 FEREDAY Robert 2000 18.05.1962 GANSNER George 2002 13.10.1971 LOWRY Craig 1998 21.04.1961 QUISENBERRY Kermit 2004 27.09.1968 STRICKLAND Chris 2002 29.11.1966 SUPPLE Thomas 2004 17.12.1965 VERGARA George 1999 04.08.1960
The number of referees on the 'Elite' list in England did not change when they went professional a few years ago.
I didn't know that. Then is BC Ref's statement accurate? Does the EPL have less than 24 full-time CRs? If that's the case, it seems like a very heavy workload for your Elite corps, considering there are 10 matches (20 referees working) in a given weekend. Plus the Elite still work midweek cup matches and some select First Division games, right? Something doesn't seem to add up. Maybe it's more common to use officials that aren't on the Elite list as fourth officials?
i read somewhere that the epl reduced the number of refs in the pool when they decided to make it professional. the writer stated that they get 50,000 pounds flat fee for the season, plus a game fee of 1,500. it might have been in collina's book, which i read a few months back. or stanley lover's book, master class.
Didn't realize that mandatory retirement wasn't applicable to the MLS. If this many FIFA CRs are closing on mandatory retirement, then I can see more people being added to the MLS to get a broad enough pool to replace them. I'd be interested to see whether the MLS will impose a retirement age at some point- possibly the age 48 which I belive the EPL uses. I thought the EPL actually reduced the number of Select centres that exist - I thought one or two retired due to age and weren't replaced within the last few years.
This won't happen for one simple reason: US federal age discrimination legislation. If a guy passes his assessments, his fitness test and his national written exam every year, it's not worth MLS or USSF trying to show him the door, because it could unleash a financial pain that neither wants to deal with. That being said, I doubt we'll see too many ex-FIFAs wanting to hang on much past 48 or 50. Terry is doing it right now, and Weyland did it for a couple years, but most have decided to retire immediately. Also, the pool increased this year not just to find the next batch of FIFAs, but also because the league expanded to 12 and will be expanding further soon. An additional point to consider in the US is geography. If we had a small corps spread out around the country, it could get very expensive to subsidize travel. It's one of the main reasons we use regional ARs and fourth officials.
Seitz worked a few MLS matches as well. Then the women were taken off the list when WUSA debuted. Seitz worked as a 4th official last year and she's back on that list again. Presumably, with WUSA out of commission, she has just as much a shot as anyone at cracking the CR list.
Kari has not worked an MLS match this year. She would not be the first woman to work in the MLS. Sandy Hunt, Rachel Woo, Sharon Wheeler and Kari all worked MLS prior to the WUSA. Since the WUSA, no woman has worked in the MLS. Kari certainly has the international match experience and ability to work MLS middles.
Let's clarify here: Sandra Hunt, Nancy Lay and Kari Seitz are the only women to ever referee MLS matches. Sharon Wheeler, and I believe Katherine Hepburn and Janice Gettemeyer before her, were FIFA ARs and ran lines in MLS. Rachel Woo worked as a fourth official only. All of this was pre-WUSA. Once WUSA came into being, the female FIFAs, along with a small group of newer male nationals, became the WUSA referee pool. Since WUSA folded, Seitz has worked a couple MLS games as a 4th, as it appears she will again this year.
Katherine Hepburn was the first American woman FIFA referee, not AR. A FIFA referee will never be on the line. She quit refereeing before MLS started, however, I believe. Keri Seitz has been in the center this year for USL Division 1. I am told that 26 referees were considered for MLS pre-season games but only 2 were selected. They are obvious candidates to become MLS referees. You might also look at who is doing the MLS reserve games.
Partially true. Someone else also corrected me that Hepburn was a CR, and didn't work in MLS. Hunt and Lay, however, did run MLS lines, despite the fact that they were FIFA CRs.