2023 MLS Round 1 Match 2 Referee Discussion

Chilowicz and Saghafi only getting 4ths so far seems notable.

It’s also somewhat surprising, or at least notable, to me that Touchan doesn’t have a playoff whistle yet in his career, he came up in the same generation (or earlier) as a lot of the guys making their debut this year.

 

Saghafi and Touchan aren't surprising at all.

The only person that thinks Touchan should be getting playoff games is Touchan. His performances on the field just haven't been good enough.

I, like you, am surprised that Chilowicz hasn't and might not get any whistles.

He's what the league seems to want. Player friendly, man-manager, etc.

 

Overall Playoff Debuts:
Swartzel (AR), Mayo (AR), Barwegen (AR), Arfa (AR), Radchuk (VAR), Wattam (AR), Tanaka-Freundt (AR)

Positional Playoff Debuts:
Mendoza (R), Marrufo (VAR)

 

NE v PHI played on 10/28 with the 2nd leg on 11/8, a full 11 days in between matches.
ATL v CBus played on 11/1 with the 2nd leg on 11/7, only 6 days in between matches.
SEA v FCD played on 10/30 with the 2nd leg on 11/4, only 5 days in between matches and the longest travel of any matchup.

Something doesn't feel right with this scheduling.

 

Well, running your playoffs through NFL season will do that I guess.

 

You might be alone in that line of thinking. "The guy" was on the World Cup Final.

 

I mean, for all of Elfath’s strengths, Billy isn’t totally wrong. Elfath is prone to weird errors more than most top guys in MLS (for example, the yellow card he pulled out on the blatant DOGSO situation in MLS Cup). It’s just that the powers that be feel that his strengths outweighs his weaknesses. And part of that is a question of preference / what they are looking for in a referee. That’s a subjective question. FIFA seems to love Cesar Ramos too, that’s their preference, but there are plenty of smart referee people who think Ramos is awful, because he’s just not what those people want out of a referee.

 

VIctor Rivas is in a cauldron right now. Big challenge for him in Game 2 of RBNY-CIN.

 

Just turned on the game. Thoughts on that handball shout at 45'+6'? I thought it looked more like a handball than not, but none of the angles we were shown were particularly useful.

 

Big missed advantage there in the 53rd.

 

41'

Barlow got a yellow for this tackle. Did he deserve more? #RBNY #AllForCincy pic.twitter.com/tN0gCCTBwb

— Seth (@SethMan31) November 4, 2023

 

On the previous thread, I noted how the only way for a player to be suspended for YC accumulation in these playoffs is to be booked in all 3 Round 1 games (or 3 of their first 4 games for the teams that played the Wild Card games).

Well the Miazga yellow card after regular time just made me notice that my logic may be slightly incorrect.

Since yellow cards are wiped before a penalty shootout, a player can actually pick up two yellow cards in a game without being sent off. I presume those would both count towards accumulation.

I wonder if Miazga's YC carries over to the shootout. When exactly do the cards reset? The LOTG are frustratingly unclear on this point.

 

WE GOT OUR ANSWER. All-time LOTG moment. Player booked twice in a game and correctly not sent off!

 

Off topic, and I know this isn’t totally proper for this forum-I just cannot stand Matt Miazga. For someone who has not accomplished a great deal in his career, he sure does love his s***housing.

 

You can take solace in the fact that he got himself suspended from a huge playoff game in one of the stupidest ways possible, picking up 3 YCs in 2 games.

 

as mics were live during the "always riveting" coin toss (memo to appleTV announcers - you don't have to hype the coin toss), Rivas saying the kicks will be taken at the NYRB supporters end "I didn't pick that - the league picks that". Maybe not a good move by the league as that makes confrontations like we saw here (objects thrown at the visiting players after the game) more likely.

 

He's actually a good player who has done a lot more than most but it seems like the ceiling on his career is self-imposed.

 

So that basically confirmed something we either speculated or supposed from earlier this season (I think during Leagues Cup, but might have been during last year's playoffs) - the league predetermines the end for kicks. To be honest, in a stadium, that does not seem right. I can understand in many of our games where we will pick because of a parking lot or something like that in our complexes, but I feel like that there should be a random aspect to the end where kicks are taken.

 

I agree. It’s not fair for the league to mandate an end that could potentially give one team an advantage. It should be random. I’m sorry but if security plans can’t be made for exactly two possibilities, you need better security.

 

Not the take I expected but still…

Pat Noonan said throwing things at players is never OK, however: “If you celebrate like that, expect sh*t to be thrown at you.”#FCCincy @WCPO

— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) November 5, 2023

 

Well to be fair, Noonan probably wanted to throw something at Matt Miazga after his celebration given the state of their center back depth.

 

Review in the 74th minute for penalty for holding. Very clear hold by Ferreira on Ruidiaz, despite the fact that the goalkeeper catches the ball before it has any chance of getting to Ruidiaz. Stott sent it down, but Mendoza stuck with no foul after the OFR.

To me, it was a clear hold that impeded the movement of the attacker and should have been called. Presumably, Mendoza's reasoning was that it had no effect on the play. But that doesn't matter to me. It makes the holding all that stupider.

 

I can probably buy a borderline or even likely foul like this not being called. But to see that blatant of a shirt pull not called because "eh, I'm 99% sure the keeper's getting to the ball even if Ruidiaz isn't held so I'm not calling it" just doesn't sit that well with me. Everyone in the stadium can see the pull.