This is exactly what I mean by corruption. If the League is calling the shots because they are providing the money, they are not a disinterested party. There needs to be obvious clear separation between them, or the league will keep control.
And how would you suggest that happen? Every other pro league in North American sports controls their officials. US Soccer and CSA are not in a position to run the referee programs at that level. The set up is the same as what they have in England with PGMOL
Unionization? It's definitely an uphill battle but leagues need qualified referees and the referees have the power together if they organize. Of course that's made difficult in our profession as even the MLS used scabs years ago. But, not impossible. The 40 hour work week was considered impossible. Child labor is also a thing of the past. It isn't a law of nature that the Pro League controls everything.
It is not my responsibility to clean up what you wrote. You literally said PRO is an improvement, you had multiple posts criticizing PRO, and you forcefully asserted PRO should be disbanded. At no time did you suggest anything as an alternative, so the natural conclusion--in my eyes--is that you want things reverting back to USSF. If you have an alternative, that's on you to suggest. Which leads me to... Did you just suggest that MLS referees unionize? I'm going to stop engaging here because your base level of knowledge of how everything operates and what exists right now is lower than I presumed.
I'm not in a union, yet I referee in the United States. I'm saying all referees in the US and Canada should be in a Union. I didn't think I would have to explain this, but if it hurts you at all to respond to me, you don't have to do it. We could just enjoy ourselves happily ignoring the other ones existence.
So every single registered referee in the US and Canada would be in the same union and all employed by MLS? If that's not what you mean, you need to spell out what you mean. Because there needs to be an employer that the union is negotiating with on behalf of the union membership... just like how PSRA's bargaining unit does now with PRO. I'm just concerned about falsehoods or myths being put forth unchallenged. If it hurts you to engage in debate and defend your positions, you don't have to either. But it couldn't be clearer at this point that you're just saying and typing things that aren't grounded in anything close to reality or lay out a plausible alternative reality that you seek.
US Soccer has interest in appeasing a large swath of its membership, thus if they were left in charge of MLS assignments you would have waaay more referees than you do now. The standard of officiating would be lower, and connections to Chicago would be rewarded. PRO has problems, but it is hard to argue that officiating is worse now than it was 10 years ago. There has been dramatic improvement, that's for sure. The IRP is a joke, and the playoffs are called the same as they have always been. But the week-in/week-out officiating is much improved. So this is like what people say about democracy--it may not be a good system, but it is way better than the other ones we have tried.
I’ll try my hand at predictions as well. I agree that Marrufo and Elfath each have one more match to handle... I will guess that Elfath will be protected and will go straight to the final rather than referee an earlier game. It’s possible that Marrufo could handle both a QF and a SF. If this is the plan, I’ll pencil him in for Seattle - Dallas and then for the East Final, as he hasn’t referred SKC in quite a while if I remember correctly. I also think Vasquez surely must have an assignment planed, it would be really strange to see him still without without a playoff game on his resume. Fischer is also a good prediction, perhaps PRO will want to reward the Canadian contingent for the sacrifices they have had to make in particular this year. I don’t think Stott will get another game, however. If we see another ref get a second game besides Marrufo and Elfath, I think it will be Saghafi, or Villarreal. I’ll predict Saghafi for now. If they don’t give Marrufo a QF and a SF, it gets interesting as to who the other slot will go to. As you mentioned, Kelly is a peculiar case, but Stott got a playoff game after he too had a very short season so I think it’s possible. Perhaps we do see two of {Saghafi, Stott, Villarreal} repeat. Or, predictions being as they are, maybe a name that none of us expect! Edit: I’ve miscounted (I blame Allen Chapman) and left out one game. So to amend the above prediction, I’ll say for sure Marrufo gets a third game, and I’ll say Villarreal gets a second. So in summary: QFs: Marrufo (SEA-DAL), Fischer, Vasquez, Villarreal SFs: Marrufo (East), Saghafi (West) Final: Elfath I’ll revisit this post in 3 weeks to remark at how inaccurate it was!
As someone who has followed MLS for the better part of 15 years, the quality of officiating is light years better than it was when I started following the league. I readily admit that things are not perfect, and I know there have been a few high-profile screw-ups. But overall, the quality of officiating is much better than what the general US soccer public and US soccer media gives it credit for. I'd say that the US implementation of VAR has been much better than many countries - including England. PRO also seems to be doing a pretty good job of bringing some younger officials into the MLS ranks like Dickerson (who I think has been a very good addition this season). Again, England hasn't exactly been bringing in a lot of good young officiating talent, particularly in the middle. Had US officiating been so awful, they wouldn't have had two on-field officiating crews working in the 2018 World Cup when nearly every political arrow was pointed back at the US.
We are all about to be really wrong because one referee that we all think is going to work is done for the year.
Ha, I shouldn't say anything affirmative about end of year notices. But I can say no Elfath, Marrufo or Stott for the QFs. So that should narrow things down for people (though obviously there's one surprise omission and, in turn, at least one surprise inclusion).
I believe that I saw on twitter that Stott just refereed his 399th MLS game. The "is Kevin Stott going to retire this year" game is always a fun one but if 2020 is indeed his last year, you would assume he gets to 400. I'm guessing Elfath and Marrufo for the semis and Stott on the final along with the announcement they are naming the Referee of the Year award after him. This would go against the recent history of the winner getting the Cup assignment, but 2020 is weird and Elfath already had the MLS is Back final, so why not.
39 of those were VAR, so it would not be his 400th game as a center referee, but it certainly could be a fitting end to his MLS carrer. He also has 61 4th assignments.
I think on last weekends’s Seattle LAFC broadcast, they mentioned that Stott hopes to referee another year, though to be honest I can’t recall if this was an editorialization from the commentators or if they claimed that it came from a direct source or Stott himself. Your predictions are interesting... however I don’t think Stott will get the final... he is still good and reliable for sure but not the best PRO has to offer anymore. As for naming the award after him, I would very much support that! He deserves it greatly, and I can’t imagine another referee will come along who deserves it more than he does after 25 years in the league. As for the surprise exclusion, I have to wonder if Vasquez is the name MassachusettsRef has in mind. It was disappointing he didn’t get a whistle in last year’s playoffs after the POR-SJ issues on decision day (though it was bold of PRO to allow him to be 4th official on the final without a single playoff whistle on his resume), but after missing the MLSIsBack knockout stages too I have to wonder if PRO’s opinion of him has quickly declined. All speculation on my part for now, we will see soon! And the surprise inclusion is anyone’s guess.
It's 360 regular season and 39 playoff whistles. His next whistle will be his overall 400th competitive MLS match in charge, whenever it happens. He's already pushing 500 when you factor in other positions worked.
Admittedly a small sample size, but for me Dickerson has been a lot more impressive than Vasquez has this season.
I usually avoid math on the weekend , but if Stott’s next assignment is a middle he’ll get the double milestone of 400 middles and 500 total assignments in the same game. That’s just an amazing feat of longevity and consistency.
Looking again, he's already surpassed it. Here's what I have for him (reg/playoffs): R: 360/39 4: 62/11 V: 39/3 514 total. I guess I need to check his 4th official assignments to see if it's really 61 or 62.
He's never started a game at AR, and I am not aware of any games where he had to substitute in the role at any point, but that doesn't necessarily mean it didn't happen in the very early seasons. Just unlikely if I haven't heard of it by now.
Thought I'd re-up this thread. MLS just released this video "commemorating" the PK fiasco with Chapman and Orlando last year. This was the send off to the keeper in the shootout, then the long delay then the confusion about "can you sub a red carded keeper" and how MLS applies Law 13, then the whistle to end the game before kicks were over...that whole thing. Anyway, there is video of Chapman in it. He tells his side of the story. It looks a little bit like a hostage video, and made me feel very sorry for him. Obviously this crushed him. Also, turns out the encroachment was not called by VAR, but by the AR, and confirmed by VAR. Many suspected that, but it was interesting to hear Chapman describe it.
I am surprised Chapman chose to sit for this. It might humanize him in the eyes of some, but to what end? There’s definitely fodder for supporters in here toward the end and, ultimately this is a video that is sympathetic to Orlando—it feels like he’s starring in an Orlando video. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a compelling watch. But I don’t think his participation is going to go over well in the circles that can and that should matter most.