Vintage Ives today; his one-liner about Collina is hillarious. If you saw the DC/SJ opening match on ABC and compared it to the way Stott officiated the MetroStar/Revs match, you would think it was two different people. In the opener, Stott over-reacted and was giving out red cards left and right. No way he should have missed that handball in the box in the first half against NE: "Anyone who watched the league's season opener between D.C. United and San Jose saw a card-happy referee who wouldn't know how to properly play an advantage if Pierluigi Collina trained Stott how to do it." http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr...lRUV5eTY1MjAzOTImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2
How do you know he missed the handball? Maybe he saw it but deemed it not deliberate. I'm not saying the non-call was right or wrong, I don't know. But like most decisions made by a ref, it's his judgment. A different ref, or the same ref on a different day, may have called the penalty. That's the way it goes.
Don't even bother trying to prove other wise. That was a clear handball that obstructed the flow of play. A cross that might have been dangerous if anything. The sad thing is the Scott is supposed to be the most experienced ref in the league.
We're not talking about Greg Berhalter's hand ball (arms at his side) in WCQ. This was a blatant hand ball that prevented a good scoring chance. Stott has been a horrible ref since Day 1. In general, I think the quality of the officiating is improving, Stott has to go.
I know it was a clear handball. I know it may have been a dangerous cross had it gone through. I saw the game; it was very obvious. If someone asked Stott why he didn't call it, I'm sure he would say that he saw the handball but that it was NOT deliberate and therefore not illegal. And whether or not it was deliberate is a much tougher question than whether it was a handball in the first instance.
Well, consider the US shot that struck the arm of the German defender on the line in WC 2002. As I recall, the more "liberal" approach was taken: inadvertent, no penalty. On the traditional side, however, even Beckenbauer was rumoured to have said that, inadvertent or not, if not for that arm the ball would have crossed the goal line and therefore it should have been a penalty. The "arm ball" Sunday, while not DIRECTLY preventing a goal, certainly did prevent a dangerous cross. But I guess Stott (who has variously been called a dolt and the best ref in MLS) is of the liberal persuasion. =NLK=
For everyone who rips on the referees, I want to know how many of you actually ARE referees? I'd like to see you go out there and do a better job (in general - not for one specific incident) than the gentlemen who do this week in and week out for our league. Without them, or others willing to put up with such abuse, the league would not survive. Granted, Stott may have made calls (or non calls) that were not what you would have thought were correct, but don't forget, every referee is assessed on every game they do, and they are questioned about their actions. I'm sure his assessor asked him about this particular incident.
Yeah, trying to be rational about officiating is kind of like asking people to talk about their inner child at an al-Qaida cell meeting. But in this case, Stott had a bad game, which everybody is prone to do sometimes. And then the next game he did better. Not everybody does their best work every time.
Please point to me where in the LOTG where "disrupting the flow of play" affects a handball decision? Stott could have ruled that the handball was unintentional. From the replay, it certainly could have been seen that way.
It's not as if these officials are volunteers. They get paid well for 90 minutes of work. Also, there's a slew of college and semi-pro officials out there, so it's not as if there's a shortage.
It may have been a clear "handball" (whatever that means to you) but it was far from clearly "handling the ball" which is the law punishes. I looked at the play twice in slow motion and did not see any clear intent to play the ball with the hand from the TV angle (an important point to consider). But non-refs never get it wrong! And if Ives is so good, how can he praise (not wrongly) Parke, without noting in fairness that it was his man who scored.
Officiating IS their jobs and should be criticized the same way that normal people get criticized whenever they do a mistake during their job. This is one of the biggest problems in sports in general. Like said before, if you can't do the job professionally, then do it elsewhere. Normal workers can't just make mistakes and say "Oops, I made a mistake...it's okay for everyone to make mistakes." Yeah, I'm sure that excuse will last really long.
I fully agree with everything you said. However, I think the point made my some here is that the critiques come with limited knowledge of what's being critiqued. In this very thread, people talk about a 'handball' that 'disrupted attacking play' or 'prevented a scoring opportunity'. Beckenbauer is envoked with his 'traditionalist interpretation'. The fundamental point is that Beckenbauer, and everyone else, is wrong. Not wrong in the sense that they have no right to criticize Stott. As you point out, everyone--refs included, perhaps especially--need to be held accountable. However, hold them accountable to the correct standards. If you want to say "that handball was deliberate and Stott missed it", then fine. That's perfectly appropriate and acceptable. But people shouldn't be basing their argument that Stott is wrong on an incorrect interpretation of the Laws. And, speaking of accountability, yes, referees should be critiqued and held to a standard just like players. However, as this article shows, the standard we are trying to hold our referees to is far higher than that of our players. When Stott or any other MLS referee 'screws up', whose name is envoked? Collina's, of course. The original poster of this thread said he found that reference hilarious. I find it foolish hyperbole. Collina is the best referee in the world--perhaps ever. When one of our top stars like Donovan screws up, do we say that "if only Henry taught him finishing, he'd know what to do". Or do we (the sane amongst us, at least) compare Adu to Pele? Of course not. We recognize we are a growing league, with growing talent. Similarly, the refereeing quality must grow alongside it. The refereeing is far from perfect, and I critique it regularly. However, it's much better than people perceive--especially compared to similar quality leagues around the world. Our officiating is behind England, Germany and Italy, yes. But those of you that watch international soccer regularly should realize that MLS officiating is ahead of Spain, Portugal, Brazil and France. And those league's quality of play is higher than MLS's.
Which would indicate a certain level of ignorance on Beckenbauer's part in regards to the handball rule. Without arguing over whether or not he should have called a handball, I will only say that the rule regarding handballs says nothing about judging what would have happened had the ball not struck an arm. It deals with intent, and only intent.
If you are of the persuasion who thinks Stott sucks, exactly what level of quality would you expect from Joe Blow Referee pulled out of the college or semi-pro ranks?
I just want to go on record saying that if MLS pulled me out of the college and semi-pro ranks right now and put me in the middle of an MLS game, you'd all be begging for Stott to come back!
I know I'd never give out a yellow card for dissent. Instead, players would get pimpslapped with the phrase "I'm the ref, BITCH!". And if I thought you dove, the gat would crack on your ass! Sachin
It's like people complaining about the quality of the right midfielder for the Metros without understanding that the available talent pool is fairly limited.
What color is the sky in your world where people don't make mistakes? No one is perfect. Some just make fewer mistakes than others. That's why Kevin Stott is officiating in MLS and you're bitching about it on an Internet message board. He either missed a call or had a different interpretation as you. I'm sure your view from the couch or stands was better than his on the field.
That is not true. No one's saying the quality of officiating in MLS is a travesty. The article simply pointed out ONE official in the entire story. The writer even points out specific games and events to support his opinion. Also, note that he goes out of his way to commend two other officials he believes are doing a fine job. Just like a player is fair game for missing an empty net, an official can be criticized for being "inconsistent". The Collina comment was an attempt at humor and not a comparison. If anyone can't take it as such, so be it.