In an email from USSOCCER regarding the Open Cup final: Alex Prus has earned the honor of refereeing the Open Cup final. George Gansner and Kermit Quisenberry will run the lines while Terry Vaughn, the center official for the 2006 championship match, will hand the fourth official duties.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee Oh, so THAT explains why Gansner said he'd be in Dallas on Wed. Duh. Great crew - should be an interesting match. Will have to find a place to watch it, if possible.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee I've got Prus pegged for MLS Cup. I wonder if this affects his chances.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee Congrats to the crew. Looking forward to watching the game. My guess for MLS Cup: Vaughn / Fereday / Gansner or Supple / Marrufo
Re: US Open Cup Final referee I think Fereday is a guarantee (or he should be--he's coming off the international list this year and, shockingly, he's never been on an MLS Cup). I also think the other AR is Gansner or Supple. As for the referee, I thought the past couple years that Vaughn and Prus had distinguished themselves and deserved it (and was very surprised when Marrufo got it last year). Anyway, I think that, based on assignments and the way the season has gone, it's Salazar or Toledo. If you forced me to guess now, I'd say what I have below (though, once the playoffs start, I'm sure I'll amend it): Toledo/Fereday/Supple/Weyland Vaughn will get an MLS Cup Final before 2010, but I'm not sure it will be this one.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee It surprised me that Marrufo got MLS Cup last year until I found out he got his FIFA badge soon after. If there's anything any organization loves to do, it's show off their employees. I still think Prus gets it this year. He's had the best year of all the reasonably possible candidates, in my opinion.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee I think it has to be one of the 4 full-timers in the middle. The Federation has to show this program is a success and using anyone other than one of those 4 would raise questions as to the value of the program. How you can you have professional referees and not give them the top match in the country? That being said, I like Toledo...though he got the all-star game... or Vaughn. I think Marrufo can be ruled out since he had it last year. Toledo has had a very good year and some prominent assignments. Though I could easily see Vaughn getting it as well. It seems as though he has waited for his chance. Also, he has done very few MLS games this year beause of all his international travelling. This may make him a good candidate. I think Salazar gets the 4th and the AR's could be anybody though I like MassRefs logic. I may rule out Gansner since he got the Open Cup, but who knows on that.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee Exactly. At least for the first year, that is. If Stott stays on the panel, I think he'll get the game once more before his retirement. And I wouldn't rule Prus out in the future (or any other future FIFA referee that doesn't enter the program). But, this year, I think it is safe to assume it will be from that group. I forgot that Toledo had the All-Star game. And I actually think that Vaughn's travel will hurt him this year, under the theory that you want someone who's been familiar in the league (also, didn't Vaughn take heat for the Joseph red card? or am I remembering things incorrectly?). I still think Vaughn is our best referee for the future, but I just don't think he stood out enough this year to get the game. Thinking about it more, I think that Salazar will get the match. Technically, he's "waited" as long as Vaughn (since their FIFA badges).
Re: US Open Cup Final referee I'm excited that this program exists. It has the potential to be a great thing for refereeing in our country, and I hope it expands in the future. In short, I'm all for it. But the thought process in this thread points out what I feel is a potential drawback about the program. Shouldn't all MLS referees, or at least all MLS referees with FIFA badges, receive equal consideration for the cup final? I have not heard anything official about the 'policy.' Being a full-time member of the program does not mean you are a better referee than the other guys. Nor should it entitle you to priority treatment with respect to game assignments. I don't know a lot about how top-level refereeing works in other countries. In England, all the guys who work EPL middles are full-time 'pro' refs, right? So it this issue we are discussing here in the USA something that the folks in England don't have to worry about (at least, not any more)?
Re: US Open Cup Final referee I would agree with you in the future...but this year I think it is important for the program's future to use full timers on the match. It is a new program and the referee committee needs to show it is working. How does it look when you hire 4 guys and then say none of them are good enough for this match. In the future, when the program is more secure, I think this game can go to whomever...similar to the way Jair got it last year and then got his FIFA badge. But, in year one I think it will be a full timer if for no other reason than to validate the program
I hadn't really thought about it in relation to the full-timers, but now that you mention it, I've got to agree that it will be one of them. I doubt it will be Marrufo because he had it last year so that leaves Vaughn, Toledo, and Salazar. My problem is that I don't think any of those three have had a particularly stellar year. However, if it comes down to it, I'd say that Toledo has had the best year of the three. Most striking is that he hasn't had any major incidents that were either missed completely or mishandled. Vaughn and Salazar, on the other hand, have the Marsch/Beckham dust-up and the Herron elbow, respectively.
Re: US Open Cup Final referee You're right. The pro website has that but for some reason MLS says it was Darren Engers (which should have been obviously incorrect to me): http://web.mlsnet.com/history/archive.jsp?year=2003&content=cup Well, my theory was that they'd care since he hadn't ever had the game (unlike the 3 you mention). So since he has, that theory is gone. Still, Lowry and some others have had it multiple times, so I'll stick with my predictions for now.