C'mon ... MLS was perfectly within its rights to levy these fines. Like it or not bitching to the referee after the fact doesn't do sh!t and entering the ref's secure area is forbidden. So quit the homerism and accept the fact that these three f'ed up and did so in a fairly useless manner.
You are right that they are within their rights to levy those fines. In fact, in these particular cases (all four of them) the fines were justified. That however, does not give them the right to put horrible referees on the field for MLS games.
More usolicited banal dogma from our moderater occupying the undeniable high ground. I know it's difficult, boys, but just ignore him until after the game tomorrow. I'd say they made their point, and paid a hefty price for it. Maybe one of these days USSF will see the light -- yeah, and pigs might fly. GM
It's interesting to note what you snipped out of my post. These three were fined because they broke a rule and MLS therefore had the right to fine them. Do you disagree? I can rant and rave all I want about the refs. So can you. The players can do the same - behind closed doors. But it's just useless for players to do it to the refs face. It doesn't change anything. Maybe it makes the player feel better and maybe the fans get a vicarious thrill out of seeing it. But it's just a lot of thunder and bluster that amount to nothing in the end. Nothing except a fine and, occasionally, a game suspension. So, no, I think it's useless. I'd like to see the reffing situation in MLS changed as much as anyone but players throwing temper tantrums isn't gonna help to procure that end.
Re: Re: Re: DCU/AEG make $2500 contribution to MLS Sorry, DN. Just following GM's statement to it's logical conclusion. Being an *#*#*#*#*#*#*# doesn't make me wrong. The only way Twellman will break his leg is if he trips over the crutches he is using because of his broken foot. He's already been out for three weeks and it hasn't stopped the Revolution offense (a former oxymoron) one whit. I knew we would find something in common. Hope to see you on the 15th.
Then perhaps that is an indictment of MLS management. If they want their product to get better, i.e. MLS, they are going have to do something about the referees.
Look, to a certain degree I agree with you. Notice that not once this year did I complain about the referee (despite some horrible called games, e.g. the last Revolution & Columbus game). In fact I praised a referee the few times that they did competent jobs (e.g. Alex Prus in the Kansas City game comes to mind). But to say that it is useless implies that there is no hope, ever, of changing things. And I do not agree with that assessment. If MLS management is unwilling, or perhaps uncaring enough, to listen to it's most loyal fans then their product is not going to get better. MLS management should also listen to their employees, i.e. the players, as they have a vested interest in their jobs. That they have listened to MLS fans and players in the past (e.g. shootout, time clock, etc.) tells me that it is not useless. When Earnie Stewart loses his cool on the field, something that rarely happens, MLS should take notice. When one of their managers loses his cool, MLS should take notice.
That doesn't mean that MLS management dosn't suck, which is what you were responding to, or to be more specific, doesn't mean that their inability or unwillingness to do something about the standard of referees in MLS doesn't suck. Sure, the direct causes of the fines were the outbursts of the players and Payne, but that's not the only item in the picture, so you can't be surprised when people want to talk about the things that made the players upset. Whether the players f'ed up or not depends on, for instance, whether Earnie and Eliseo think that saying their piece was worth $250. It's not like they committed a felony -- they broke a rule, something they do every time they foul someone or go offside. The penalty for this one is $250, rather than a free kick for the other team. Frankly, I would have paid $250 after the Columbus match (or the Metro-fourth-sub match) to get into the "Referee Secure Area" and state my complaints, whether that was a "useless" thing to do or not. That our players did it doesn't make it "right" but it also doesn't make it a big deal, unless a parking ticket is a big deal, because in sporting terms that's all a $250 fine is.
I see the fines as a way for the League to save face. They know when a ref did a poor job of officiating, but they can't admit that to the general public. By fining players, coaches, and whoever else, the League makes those people look like the bad guys when it's usually the other way around.