that water break was unreal, like anybody that was there would know. When he started waving people over to the sidelines I thought he was going to go have a talk with the players or something, I had no idea what was going on. It completely disrupted the flow of the game and took away some of our home field advantage, like Dom said some of the people around us were asking if we could have an oxygen break in Colorado and SL. Besides the water break, it was weird that Olave didn't leave the field, he stayed in the spot on the sideline where he was booked after the play was restarted. He made no motion towards the exit for several minutes. The penalty was bogus, but so were the possession calls that seemed so obvious that went against the Dynamo, the goal that was nullified, the back pass to the goalie (and then he called a foul on us for some reason??), on and on and on. The Dynamo had an off night, but the ref was having an off game to be sure. After the missed pk, I really thought we were destined to lose, so I was happy with the tie. And the crowd was fantastic tonight.
Credit to RSL for playing well up until the goal. After that, they deserved to lose this one and should feel good with a draw. The flopping was so ridiculous I said to my brother, I didnt realize I was going to watch a Serie A team tonight. Anyways, not to down about it since we got the point on a come back. Good way to get the guys revved up for the road trips.
Personally, I'd rather see a water break than players dropping from the heat. Granted, you don't see that kind of thing particularly often, but it's not unprecedented. I'm also not so sure that Marrufo didn't remember he'd already booked Olave. I just don't think he was in any rush to pull out the red. Jumping right in front of someone when they try to take a throw in is about as automatic as yellow cards come. He was getting that card whether Marrufo remembered his first or not. Less importantly, that second yellow should go down as failure to respect the required distance as of the 2008/2009 edition of the LotG. Dissent was definitely incorrect.
Eeeverton... He said it twice. It was tough on the ears. I am not sure why someone didn't correct him the first time.
Refeeeing aside, the Dynamo got what they deserved. Poor finishing let us down. You can't expect us to play great every game. The ref played a big factor in our frustration in the first half. Stuart, Kei, Davis, Cameron all seemed to have an off game last night. Thank God for the Flyin' Hawaiian!
Players take water breaks all the time without the ref stopping the game specifically for it. The most effective technique is having one of your players flop on the ground, faking an injury while the trainer brings out his magic spray and six bottles of water for the "uninjured" players to pass around.
Not to beat a dead horse... the reffing thing... but did anyone hang around for the recert 'class' where local refs were able to question the crew after the game? I all of a sudden regret not signing up for it! Just would like to hear if someone got Jair's thoughts as to WTH he was doing out there. Refs make bad calls... it's part of what we do. But... this was rediculous. Hope Machinik (sp) does something about this. As far as the game went... a tie works for the level of play we had. Great to see the guys pump it up at the end and go for it. You could see they wanted another one at the very end. Crowd was on fire! Great job, guys.
In my opinion the water break was ridiculous. We are not even into the hottest part of the summer and it was a night game. Sure it was hot, but they are professional atheletes, right? And if they are not in shape, too bad, it is our home field advantage - which gets negated by actions like that. I have never seen a Dynamo game stopped when they are playing away at altitude for an "oxygen" break - completely ridiculous. *** Doh sorry - didn't read the beginning of the thread - just realized some one posted a quote from Dom saying the same thing (which I hadn't heard) . . . hmmm we must think a like . . . ***
I've watched a lot of soccer. I have never seen a water break called in the middle of a half at any professional level. Ever. I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, but it has to be extremely rare. Besides, its not like it was even hot (by Houston standards). And while Dom said it in a frustrated, tongue in cheek manner, he completely has a point. Next time we play in RSL, let's have an altitude break so that the players can catch their breath. I mean, I'd rather see an altitude break than players dropping from a lack of oxygen. It was 100% ridiculous to call and there is no excuse or apologizing for it.
Favorite moment in the game was when the crowd spontaneously started chanting "water break, water break" late in the game. Solid.
Maruffo had a very bad game. I think he is usually one of the better MLS refs, but he had a very odd reliance on/denial of using the ARs last night. That said, I would rather have him than many others - he is not incompetent, he just had a bad night.
in the MLS N&A thread on last night's games, someone posted that they had seen it in the Mexican league, someone else thought it might have happened in the Olympics in Beijing (I don't recall that). Maniacal Clown would know a lot more about what the referee can or cannot do, the referee is given wide discretion in the LOTG, it would seem. I didn't see any postgame quotes from Beckerman, but I would believe Canetti's story that Beckerman suggested it, Mulrooney thought it was a joke, but that was taken as agreeing to it. Kinnear clearly didn't know about it, it looked like Kreis didn't either, not sure about that. Again, MC can correct me, but would it have even mattered if the captains (much less the coaches) agreed to this, once the referee decided to do it?
If your suggesting that a referree has the discretion to stop the game for a water break I would like to see some authority on that. My impression is that it is not provided for in the rules and that Marrufo was seriously out-of-bounds on that. I understand that the referree has signifcant discretion when applying the rules -- but he is required to apply the rules. A water break is against the rules. I'm copying below a relevent section of the Laws of the Game from the FIFA website: Powers and Duties The Referee: • enforces the Laws of the Game • controls the match in cooperation with the assistant referees and, where applicable, with the fourth offi cial • ensures that any ball used meets the requirements of Law 2 • ensures that the players’ equipment meets the requirements of Law 4 • acts as timekeeper and keeps a record of the match • stops, suspends or abandons the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws • stops, suspends or abandons the match because of outside interference of any kind • stops the match if, in his opinion, a player is seriously injured and ensures that he is removed from the fi eld of play. An injured player may only return to the fi eld of play after the match has restarted • allows play to continue until the ball is out of play if a player is, in his opinion, only slightly injured • ensures that any player bleeding from a wound leaves the fi eld of play. The player may only return on receiving a signal from the referee, who must be satisfi ed that the bleeding has stopped • allows play to continue when the team against which an offence has been committed will benefi t from such an advantage and penalises the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue at that time • punishes the more serious offence when a player commits more than one offence at the same time • takes disciplinary action against players guilty of cautionable and sending-off offences. He is not obliged to take this action immediately but must do so when the ball next goes out of play • takes action against team offi cials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at his discretion, expel them from the fi eld of play and its immediate surrounds • acts on the advice of the assistant referees regarding incidents that he has not seen • ensures that no unauthorised persons enter the fi eld of play • indicates the restart of the match after it has been stopped • provides the appropriate authorities with a match report, which includes information on any disciplinary action taken against players and/or team offi cials and any other incidents that occurred before, during or after the match
I'm not sure if it was the same thing, but some guys near us started chanting "water break Salt Lake" and we all picked up on it, before long it sounded like the whole side was doing it, maybe it got changed but when we were doing it it was Salt Lake, not water break twice....
I've seen something similar in state league games in Brazil early in the year (which is the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer). Temperatures and humidity can both get extremely high during that part of the year. So, around the middle of the half, some player near the ref suddenly goes down and grabs his knee or ankle. The ref then calls in the trainer. At the same time, everyone else on both teams goes to the sidelines to get water. The whole thing lasts for a few minutes, and the player who went down is quickly waved back on the field as play resumes. It all looks obviously staged as an unofficial time out to get water. It happens routinely during those very high heat/humidity games and everyone automatically heads to the sidelines, so it's probably discussed before the game and everyone knows what's going on. The pretext is an injured player, but the whole thing is fairly transparent. That routine is a little different from what happened on Saturday, and the conditions are probably usually worse, but it's something that happens.
Marufo needs to get an extended water break of like 3 years, unlike that one game suspension for getting the signed Blanco jersey in Chicago !!! That oddball costs us the goal. Boswell drank too much water and got sluggish in his legs !! Hugo Chavez jr. (a.k.a. Rimaldo) invented new ways to waste time. either that or he's real slooooooooow !! that's all, for now !!
The guy that was subbed out and detoured over to shake Marufo's hand on his way out, all the time strolling leisurely, that was both annoying and suspicious. You think while shaking his hand, he said, "hey, man, thanks for giving us the little water break, we sure do appreciate your helping us out down here like that...."