Best performance of all refs so far (in my eyes). Didn't know you got such quality referees in the MLS.
We got at least one. MLS refs aren't as bad as the fans and media like to say but I suspect that is common all over
Familiarity breeds contempt. I've noticed that most USSF refs seem to have done well in their international assignments over the last decade. Certainly far better than they do, based on the noise, domestically.
well done. Neither game looked too difficult, but I'm certain at least part of that was the crew. If you have one game that looks easy at the World Cup, that's a fluke. Two or more games that look easy and the ref is just that good. we discount that sometimes, but making that look easy is no mean task. Watch old games by Avi Klein, or more recently, Collina. You never felt that anything was beyond them. Not saying that Geiger is that good, but the great ones consistently make it look easy
It wasn't as pretty as the first match, but you have to play the cards that you're dealt. Well done. This trio deserves to work the Round of 16. http://soccerrefereeusa.com/index.p...aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
Somewhere in the past I came across something akin to the following. In a high-level match, nothing is higher than WC, the forwards will run 4 miles, the backs 5 miles, the mids 6, and the referee will run 7 miles. I know that FIFA keeps all of this information on the referees, and the players, and has stats upon stats, so surely somewhere there is either confirmation or refutation on this tribal knowledge. BTW - 11.5 km is just about 7 miles, so it is likely these numbers are not far off.
Those numbers come from a private company (sportvu) that is funded by the teams. I don't think every team uses them, but probably at least half of them do. On the games where they are working, they set up their own cameras in the stadium and computers track the players distance. They use wide lenses so the whole field is in view, and the software knows what player is what. They also can track player touches, give aways, the result of each touch, etc. I don't think they share that info with ESPN, and I'm not sure if ESPN pays them for the player distance info, but I do know that their numbers are VERY accurate. As far as I know they do not track the ref though.
If for no other reason than plain ol' favoritism, I really hope the The Geiger led CREW gets at least one other chance to prove to the world that the U.S.A. CAN produce world class officials. Geiger (and his A.R.'S ) really exemplify the olde' fashioned, yet never out of style, concept of proactive commonsense refereeing. So much emphasis is placed on the "Law Book on Legs" concept that we sometimes forget that officiating is about managing people in order to achieve a safe, fair and fun spectacle for the players and fans. NOBODY outside of our little world really understands that some of our greatest pleasures as referees come from little things that they will NEVER know; i.e. An advantage played that results in a goal for the offended team. I LIVE for those moments. And so does Mark and the boys.
1. Is that our first FRD yellow?? I've seen all but four matches and I think yes. 2. Geiger called a phantom foul against Iniesta, is that a big deal in the post-match review? 3. I thought Alonso's challenge was red, but @ChelseaSounder is correct....it's yellow based on the treatment of similar fouls in other games. The players seemed to accept it so I guess that counts for something. 4. I thought there were 2-3 opportunities to give a yellow for simulation to Chileans in the 2nd half. I don't think we've seen a caution for simulation yet, do we think simulation (along with PI apparently) is something that the referees have been instructed to ignore? 5. Yeah Geiger is good but he's been refereeing out of his mind these past two games. He's hotter that the sun!
If he could only get hired by the Premier League, imagine how well he'd do with that necessary high-level experience. He's done well for never having seen a real football match
I wanted to punch Steve MacManaman through my TV four years ago after he made some disparaging comments about Carlos Batres. It seemed the only thing Steve knew about Batres was that he was from Guatemala and obviously a referee from Guatemala? Come on.
Wanted to show that the call here wasn't for failing to respect the required distance, but for actually kicking the ball prior to the restart. Discussion earlier seemed to indicate it was a distance issue. Maybe semantics, but a bit different. http://www.espnfc.com/video/latest-videos/600/video/1891799 This is a first!
Thanks for posting the video clip. That is definitely DR as he actually kicks the ball away after the opposing player places it on the ground with his hands. He did not block the kick as I had thought while watching it live because the free kick had yet to be taken.
Re distance covered (etc) FIFA has all of the relevant stats and tracking documents on their official website on each games page.
I'd expect that the numbers ESPN used comes from the official FIFA stats. They are updated live on the match pages on the FIFA site and then added as PDFs when the game is finished, the sponsor is Castrol but it doesn't say who collects them and there doesn't seem to be any stats on referee movement. btw there was no Chilean player running 11.5k in this game, was 2 on 11.2 and Diaz with 12.6 though (Silva of Spain did 11.6 too).
that is true even at lower levels. When doing games featuring clubs outside my general area I hear a lot of "best ref we've had all year" and less overall dissent. not so much when it's the same 5 or 6 clubs I see most weekends.
kicker gave him the best ref grade so far ( i think) Schiedsrichter: Mark Geiger (USA) Note 2,5 hätte Pedro nach Foul an Jara verwarnen müssen, ansonsten ein sicherer Unparteiischer should have given jara yellow after fouling pedro. otherwise a sure/quality ref.
Took me a bit to find this forum, but kudos to Geiger and crew and, by extension, to the US refs represented on this forum. Everything a US soccer representative does reflects on the entire community -- whether we like it or not. I watched the game and thought he did very well, especially interested in how his ignoring various Chilean players on the pitch was going to be received, but once they started to get up and get on with it and no one complained, was heartened by it. So glad to hear objective observers concurring that he did a good job. Again, hats off to his crew and by extension the US referee community.
This makes me think that the relatively poor refereeing in MLS is due to the league itself wanting refs to allow the "physical" "style" of play we frequently see.
Those ratings are in a descending order from 1(good) to 5(bad). Check Rizzoli in ESP - NED e.g. or Brych in URU - CRC. Personally thought Geiger deserved a 1,5 though.
He should be aware of encroaching by SA team. I thought Chile encroached a bit on the first FK and a lot (a full step) on the second FK close to their penalty area. I thought also there was some malice in two contacts (Spanish player, I think Alonso, and some time after a revenge foul in that player - but these did not scalate) Solid game, didn't impact the result in any way
I'd forgotten it was Geiger in the middle, and shortly into the game, which I was watching with my brother, nephews and a co-worker, I asked, "Is that Mark Geiger?" One of 'em had a WC app open and confirmed it. It ws kinda funny, to be recognizing the ref like that. I happen to know quite a few of them, but none of these people knew that I was that much of a soccer geek. Last time I did that, with almost the same group, was the Nigeria friendly, where I asked, "Is that Mark Clattenberg?" I wonder if they think I'm wierdly into referees named Mark. Anyway, it was a GREAT game for Geiger, and I hope to see him getting more.