2024 MLS Playoffs Best of Three, Games 2 & 3 Referee Discussion

Genuinely curious what the right call is on this one:

This is a foul. 💯

You can’t interfere with a goal keeper who has possession of the ball let alone when he’s trying to punt.

Is the logic that Guzan should follow through and risk injuring himself or Redondo? Guzan and Atlanta fleeced on this one.

pic.twitter.com/vFqOHXJphB

— herculez gomez (@herculezg) November 3, 2024

 

I'm with Gomez on that one. It would be a soft foul to be sure... and Guzman did himself no favors by dropping the ball, but still. That head/shoulder fake on the replay for me is interreference and needs to be called. It is an offense to prevent the GK from releasing the ball, and it is an offense to "attempt to kick the ball when the GK is the process of releasing it." So it is a simple question: what was the attacker doing? Was he "attempting to kick the ball"? If so, foul. If not, what was he faking a foul? Faking an attempted kick? How do you fake an attempt?
I get that Vasquez maybe didn't see it, or that he just dropped the text of the law from his mind, and went mentally with the fact the guy didn't actually touch the keeper, therefore no foul. But still, that fake is obviously designed to interfere with the release, and it is an offense to challenge the keeper when he is in possession of the ball. So again--was it a kick, an attempt to kick, or a challenge? If so, it's a foul. If not... then what was it? I don't think there is a way to answer that which doesn't lead you back to a foul. Heck, I bet in much of the world it would be called a foul and a caution.

 

I have a different perspective. From a LOTG perspective, I don't think he attempted to kick the ball, and I don't think he prevented the goalkeeper from releasing the ball because even at his closest point, he is not actually in the way of either Guzan's leg or the potential flight path of the ball... I do think you have an argument that he challenged the goalkeeper for the ball but that's very subjective. Is this really a challenge for the ball?

Ultimately it's a very subjective decision and VAR was correct to not intervene.

 

Tori Penso had some RSL deja vu tonight. In September, she disallowed a goal on review after some RSL attackers in an offside position were found to have not interfered with the goalkeeper. This time around, no offside was given on the field, but after review, it was determined that the RSL attacker was in the line of vision and impacting on the goalkeeper.

Interestingly, while both of these plays were the AR1 side of the field and Penso was with the same assistants Mayo and Nesbitt, Mayo was AR1 for the game in September but Nesbitt was AR1 tonight.

 

Guzman is a fool here. I don't know if he's trying to force a caution, but his release was never interfered with and he just dropped the ball. Redondo did not challenge him. He started to run and noticed Guzman dropped the ball. Good goal.

 

I mean the easy and expected decision is a foul here. No one would complain. Instead Vazquez is trying to be clever here and show everyone how smart he is and it puts the VAR into an impossible situation.

 

As a GK I have no problem with this goal.

 

As the first tweet seems to no longer work, here it is again:

Miami have the opener and it was bizarre. 😳@InterMiamiCF // Audi #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/u2M3EQawbF

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 2, 2024

 

On the PK given to Red Bulls, probably a missed YC for DOGSO there also. And good spot by Dujic / White to spot it inside the area.

And then on the 90th minute free kick given to Columbus just outside the penalty area, good spot by Wienckowski who surely advised Dujic that this foul was outside the penalty area. Potential question of DOGSO here too, but I think it's just SPA because the other defender can probably challenge for the ball. Unfortunately it looks like Dujic missed the card here also. Furthermore, in the buildup, I think there is a missed offside, too.

 

This sets a terrible precedent that an attacker can run right next to a GK releasing the ball, stutter step towards the ball but not actually play it, throw off the GK’s balance, and have it be considered legal

I don’t like it

 

And Hector Herrera has won himself a lengthy suspension…

 

Hector Herrera sent off after certainly at least spitting near Armando Villarreal. VAR involved. Even in live action, Herrera’s actions were at least enough to make the send off plausible.

I agree with @Bradley Smith . It looked at least like he loaded up and made it clear the spitting was a deliberate reaction. I couldn’t tell on my phone whether the spit hit Villarreal, but I will certainly not dispute those saying it “connected”.

 

Armando Villareal with a red card to Houston's Hector Herrera given via VAR. Herrera spit on the back of Villareal's leg while walking past him after being booked.

 

65’ in HOU-SEA Herrera spits on the ground near Villarreal and is sent off after OFR.

He just had been booked for a foul and was clearly dissenting

my question is that it seemed that he spit at the ground near Villarreal; obviously he meant to do it and this wasn’t just a random action.

still, I’m wondering if this was more dissent than spitting at someone.
Maybe I’m splitting hairs here and he clearly needed to be sent off but wondering if this a more appropriate as a second caution than as a direct red card

EDIT: I saw other comments that he spit on the back of his leg; I couldn’t tell that from my view but it certainly possible. The fact that the referee couldn’t tell without video makes it less likely to me but certainly not impossible

 

It looked like Villarreal stopped and looked down at the back of his leg. Probably wondering what just hit his leg. But without seeing it, couldn't take action until information given from AR's/4th or from VAR.

Laws say spitting at someone, not on someone. And Herrera's action give every indication of his intention.

 

The Laws say “spitting AT someone” (additional emphasis mine). As I read it, if the referee thinks it was at him (or at anyone else) then I’m not sure it matters if the spit actually hits the mark.

 

If you want to argue it's not spitting per se and be pedantic/technical because he didn't "spit on Villarreal" it is still a straight red for OFFINABUS. It's an insulting and abusive gesture full stop directed at the referee. He's telling you what he thinks of you in a public and proactive manner.

Needed to be a straight red and great job by the VAR for getting this.

 

Right regardless if you don't think Herrera "spit at" Villarreal (which is a huge stretch) it's still a straight red for AL.

 

84-85', Dorsey blocked Nouhou off the ball, it didn't appear that Villarreal (or anyone else on the crew) initially saw it and didn't signal advantage. But then when the ball was next out of play, Dorsey went down near Nouhou (the TV feed didn't pick up what happened), and ultimately Villarreal cautions both players. Ultimately that's probably the right outcome, though I wonder how exactly they identified the YC to Dorsey.

 

Saw it once and to me it looked like he was spitting in disgust and not at him; yes, I know the laws say it doesn’t have to “connect” for it to be a red. Just looking at it in real time it appeared more like dissent than spitting at someone; seems like most people saw him spitting at Villarreal - I am happy to defer to the collective judgement here.

 

I am not trying to be argumentative or pedantic here nor am I trying to justify what he did; as i mention above he clearly needed to be sent off. I just mentioned my initial perspective here.

as for the action he clearly lost his head; it was a foolish foul and well deserving of a caution.

 

Herrera slowed his motion away from Villarreal after going past him (Villarreal's back now to Herrera), turned his body and neck nearly 180 degrees, looked down, and spit at/near Villarreal's legs. That was an intentional motion and not just spitting because I'm frustrated. Personal opinion.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/s/UzPn5a41QY

Video. This is reprehensible. There better be many, many game suspension. Piece of shit