MLS Cup 2009 Officiating [R]

Bad....boring match and I'm going to bed. Why the heck are they starting this match at 9pm eastern? And for that matter, on a school night!

 

You're missing out.

 

A few things I noted while watching tonight...

1) When Delagarza (my apologies if it is De La Garza... ESPN reports it as the former in the game report) subbed on, he was wearing a gold necklace. Seconds after he had subbed, on the ball when out for a corner kick and I paused my DVR to confirm that RSL's Espindola was in fact wearing a ring on his left hand, 4th finger. I guess the jewelry rules get stretched a bit at the pro level.

(Please don't crucify me... I was joking! I realize Stott and his crew had many other things to worry about in the grand scheme of things.)

2) In the 85th minute, RSL executed a pretty nice break that was unfortunately started by Stott placing himself directly between a pass and Donovan. He had gotten in front of the ball, and the play came at him; he didn't react fast enough to back out of the space and essentially sprung a break that nearly led to the winning goal. Thank goodness they didn't score.

3) In another thread this week I had a bunch of posters complain to me that a referee should not call a foul from 40 yards away because it's a tough sell. My argument was that if you see what you think is a foul from 40 yards away and the only reason you are that far is because of the speed of play (and not your laziness), then you should call the foul.

In about the 75th minute, LA cleared a ball up to midfield and Stott was standing 2 yards inside the LA 18. The LA forward took a slight hit from behind and went down... Stott made the call probably from at least 25-30 yards away, and my first thought was he had to have been screened (as the RSL defender came through the back of the LA forward, who was holding up play).

I rewound the play three times to see if the JAR made some sort of signal for the foul; he would have had the best view of the challenge. He did not signal with the flag. It is possible that he used the flag beeper, or said something using RefTalk to tell Stott it was a foul without actually signaling for it. However, if not, then Stott made a foul call from an arguably poor angle from 30 yards away.

I have no idea if I'm actually proving my point from the other thread or not, except to say that hey, a former FIFA ref does it. I'm not crazy.

The final foul count from ESPN was 41 fouls including OT. I probably counted at least three, if not more, advantages as well. Even accounting for another 33% more game time due to OT, this was a fairly high foul count for a title game.

 

I'm not sure I've ever seen that many offside calls. I think the referee team did a great job of it, too. It's always hard to really see the angles when watching on TV, but it looked like the ARs were really on top of it. Both teams were very aggressive in that manner and the referees were with them every step.

I wish I could get some ARs like that.

 

Noticed the necklace as well, kinda bugged me that he got to go on with that on. I'll generally let players wear wedding bands, but thats it.

Well officiated game overall. I don't think there were any missed calls, maybe a few calls that could have been let go, but overall, very well officiated.

Pretty entertaining game. I ended up rooting for LA, so I was a little disapointed with the result. Good match though.

 

I was paying less attention than I usually do since I was at a bar, but what I saw looked well-officiated. The foul count may have been a bit high, but there was certainly less reckless play than Stott's last final in 2005 which was nice to see.

 

I actually DVRed it, so I may run through the 2nd half today at some point.

 

I'm blaming Stott, it was a Disgrace. He watched the star of our National Team kick a penalty kick right over the bar and didn't even card him?!?! How are we ever going to win a World Cup if our referees let our players get away with that sort of crap!!

 

I think this may have had something to do with the game being played on (cold) turf. The ball was hopping up and running away quite a bit and the players (LA in particular) were having a tough time with their first touch, which gave defenders time to close hard.

 

Overall, I thought the referee used alot of Law 18 when making his calls. There were no technically unclear game changing calls or extemely difficult decisions for the referee crew to make. Stott allowed the match to flow without it getting out of control.

I'm not a fan of either team. I do, however, normally favor the underdog. I think Beckham knew exactly what he was doing when he fouled Morales early in the match. Stott was right there and, it appeared to me, looking directly at the contact. IMHO, someone else would probably have seeen yellow.

I wish Stott could have chosen another color. That florescent yellow jersey was the most prominent thing on the pitch. My eyes were constantly drawn to the referee rather than the players. The up side is, when I wanted to take note of his positioning, I didn't have to search for him.

Just a little thing. I know it's a high profile game and the atomosphere in Seattle is crazy, but at times Stott seemed to be too emphatic when talking to some of the players. I might think someone with Stott's experience would be able to maintain a more charab like demeanor and still get his point across. Like Busacca in the CL Final. Smiling and talking to the players. Maybe that's just not his style. I probably noticed because it's something I've been working on in my games.

 

The only thing we should take from this game is Kevin back=peddling near the end of the match and tripping over an LA player behind him. Great stuff. Drew the biggest reaction from my group of 20 referees who watches the game at my house. Overall, a good performance but not Stott at his magical best, see LA-Chivas first match in first round this year.

 

Beckham also benefits as it is early in the match.

You're right, anybody else sees Yellow, except maybe Donovan in that situation. Replay was clear, he took a hard shot at the trailing leg, nowhere close to swinging at the ball. Ended Morales match too.

I saw some makeup non-calls as the game went on, Donovan - as usual - bitching about everything in sight that did not go his way.

I gave Stott a good grade for the evening, kept it under control, it could have gotten away from him pretty easily given the foul count.

Pulling for RSL, was cheering when Donovan blew that PK over the bar, just like Beckham did once upon a time, right? Except, now Donovan will freak out if a game in South Africa goes to PKs. Uh oh, that's not good.

 

Could anyone tell what whistle Kevin was using for the game? It looked like a metal pea whistle but I really wasn't sure.

 

Was fortunate to be there - the weather held off, as it was NASTY on the drive up to Seattle from Portland. Nasty!

A few observations/questions - without the advantage of dvr or decent replay:

1. Seemed that Stott worked to avoid showing cards. With binoculars, easy to lip read what Beckerman called Stott to his face, with the initials being "F...... A......" How many bookings would it take to make that kind of stuff go away - or is that really what refs around the world put up with in their country's top leagues?

2. It appeared that a poor advantage call lead to the collision early in the second half between Ricketts, Findley, and the other player whose name I don't recall. He signalled what appeared to be advantage to LA, who promptly made a pressured touch to nowhere, ball taken by RSL and the pass made to Findley. Seemed that the advantage was in a crowd, and the players expected the whistle and not the play on. At least that was how it looked to me.

3. Why didn't Beckham and Mathis get yellows in their tangle, especially Becks after tossing Mathis to the carpet? It sure seemed appropriate, but I did see Becks and Clint slap hands a number of times as the game went on after that, including after Beckham's pk. Maybe I answered the question - whatever Stott said or did kept there from being retaliation between the two.

Probably my biggest frustration was watching Mathis play well - I have always held a grudge against him for not realizing his potential and being a jerk so often. He played very, very well in the midfield. Don't get to watch much off the ball on TV, this was a wonderful game to watch in person to see the players play, and not just where the ball is. I was impressed with how much better our MLS is than just even a few years ago.

 

As was at a National Meeting of sorts where there was a bunch of MLS players at. Someone asked "Why do you MLS players treat the referees soo badly?" One of them answered "Because they let us."

There's your answer so if the MLS Officials are told to let that kinda stuff slide especially from big names and not to do anything about it then you can't exactly crack down on it at the Final of the season can you?

They need to change that behavior, I really thought having Hall would fix it but it doesn't seem to be getting fixed.

 

Did Buddle get a card for blasting the ball over the goal and into the stands after his PK was blocked? If not, should he have?

I still can't believe Donovan missed.. argh.

 

I was also privileged to be in the stadium last night. What a game! Fantastic atmosphere.
Special thanks to all of the Seattle fans who showed up despite their team not being involved. I estimate that they made up 35,000 of the 46,011 who attended. They really made the event for the rest of us.

I actually thought that Stott didn't call enough.
I give him decent marks overall, but felt that he failed miserably to deal with Beckham and Donovan. I can only surmise that the MLS referees are being instructed to keep the big name stars in the game. Beckham absolutely needed to be cautioned at some point in the match. He probably wouldn't have had to be sent-off because he would have adjusted his behavior after picking up a card, but as it played out he committed numerous fouls and dissented fervently without Stott putting a stop to it. The profanity laced dissent tirade at midfield, the throw-down of Mathis, and the tactical foul of Beckerman about 25 yards from goal in the first extra period were three clear opportunities. Stott kept the card in his pocket on all of them. In short, Stott elected to eat sh!t from Beckham and Donovan all night instead of being a man and insisting that those two behave like any other player. IMO the star treatment hurt the game, and disappointed me. There was no balance to the Morales injury clearly caused by Beckham. Donovan went down very easily for the first 50 or so minutes and got a whistle just about everytime, then suddenly and strangely Stott just stopped giving him calls. I believe that he even overcompensated and allowed Donovan (and Beckham once or twice) to be clearly fouled a couple of times without getting the call. (If these were dives then why not caution?) It seemed to me that the turning point was just before the end of the first half when Donovan was fouled while sprinting down the right flank, but it was hard to see. He definitely got kicked (backwards) by the opponent while running in front of Fereday. The complaining which Beckham and Donovan did at the end of the half must have alienated Stott.

I'll agree with comments of some others so far too.
1. The ARs were simply AWESOME! I believe that they nailed this game. I only had a question about one non-offside decision, and I haven't checked the video yet for a second look. They were fit and hustled their tails off. Always going all the way to the corner arcs before signaling for a goal kick or corner. Always being in great position for goal line plays and offside decisions. Two big thumbs up!

2. Mathis was a stud. That's the best that I've seen him play since he was starting for the national team. He was everywhere and played with toughness that was required to deal with Beckham, who was reckless all night. If not for Mathis, RSL would not have come out on top after losing two starters, both Morales and Johnson, in the first half. Mathis stepped up HUGE. Will he get consideration for the US squad now that Davies is out injured or is he just too old now to be counted on in a tournament?

3. There were several USSF directives which weren't followed by the referee crew. The jewelry was one example. Allowing all kinds of people to take the field prior to and during the KFTM was another (camera crew at the top of the 18 just outside of the D). Plus the 100% misconduct memo must have been burned. As evidenced by all of Beckham's rough play and repeated infringements never being sanctioned, and an RSL player clearly leading with his forearm and elbow into an opponent in the last couple of minutes of the 2nd half in committing a foul at midfield directly in front of the 4th. In fact, Stott only issued two cautions during the entire match. I don't believe that he controlled the match well. I believe that he allowed physical play to overtake speed and skill. I guess this is another case of these items not applying to those at the top. Do as I say, not as I do.

Lastly, I'll add that this result proves that soccer is a team game and that playing as a whole is more important than having the superstar players. No one could dispute that Donovan and Beckham were the top talent on the field, yet any knowledgable soccer fan could see that RSL actually out-played the Galaxy over the course of the match and deserved to win long before the KFTM.

Full disclosure: Yes, I did sit with the screaming, drum-beating, chanting RSL supporters, but I don't live in Utah nor hold season tickets for that team. I'm just a major underdog supporter and fan of team play. It was a truly wonderful experience.

 

Oh, and the pass-back violation directive and its "iron triangle" concept was also tossed into the trash.

Of course, I happen to agree with that. Whoever wrote that one is a fool.

 

That's where I was, until an RSL fan rescued me and pointed out I was in the wrong section. What a difference a distance of about 25 seats will make...

And I agree with your assessment - from being there, I wouldn't have called this one of Stott's better matches. I would rather see a childish star booked than to taint the game - and a booking of Beckham might have improved his play by getting him focused on playing rather than what he was doing out there.

I still want to repeat my question about the early 2nd half incident (keeper collision) - did I see a poor advantage call that led to the breakaway, or do I have it wrong? I am still trying to get a video of the game...

 

Everyone keeps blaming Stott for not carding Beckham or Donovan or the other stars. Blaming individual referees for a long standing MLS policy isn't fair in the least. Direct your attention towards USSF rather than individual referees who can't defend themselves.

 

With specific regards to this, I pulled up the replay of the game on ESPN.360. This happens at the 46:45 mark. The RSL player holds the LA player on the ball, and Stott calls for advantage because the LA player (Jirovski?) safely plays the ball back to an unmarked teammate 10 yards behind the challenge. Stott recognizes LA is not in danger of losing possession and calls for advantage because possession is maintained. The recipient of the pass (Birchall?) oddly stands there and lets the ball roll right past him, which springs the break.

I don't think Stott made a mistake on this. LA did not lose possession because of the foul; they lost possession because the midfielder stupidly stood there and let the ball roll past him instead of playing to the whistle.

Second point... there seems to be some confusion about "Beckham throwing Mathis to the ground." That was Edson Buddle that did that. 61:10... direct ball forward, and an RSL player absolutely mugs Buddle. Stott lets him fight through it, but when RSL gains possession Stott doesn't bring it back to the mugging. Buddle gets POed and wraps Mathis and tosses him to the ground.

I think Stott did a fine job in the match. 41 fouls is a lot, but I didn't feel like he interfered too much. Even the Buddle incident... Stott was letting guys go at it. I agree he could have called more, but then the foul count would have hit 50 or 60.

The Beckham challenge that knocked Morales out... eh, at full speed it's hard to see it as truly dirty. Clumsy and careless, yes. In slow motion I agree it looks like Beckham was a bit more than careless, but Stott didn't get to evaluate it in slow motion.

I noted the elbow late in the game as well. It was to the chest area. I think Stott was actually pretty consistent all night in what he called and didn't call. Yeah, I think Buddle got mugged, and I would have given the foul after he clearly was not going to win possession, which would have prevented him from hip-tossing Mathis. But that was a 50-50 possession battle in the middle of the field, so the game maybe didn't need a whistle there?

 

I agree with where we should be directing our criticism, which is why I wrote this, but unfortunately, the man with the whistle must get the finger pointed at him as well because in the end he makes the choice about what to do and whether or not to follow any of our conjectured instruction. If the individual MLS referees wished to defend themselves they could tell the league office no, and if any of them suffer for their refusal, then publicly announce that the league is telling them to do this, and state that they refuse to compromise the integrity of the game.

 

Career in the sport you love, or just slightly bending the laws to accommodate your dreams and the dreams of your bosses. Look I'm all for integrity, but I refuse to point the finger at people who don't stick their necks out. When is the last time you saw a Parade for a Whistle Blower anyways? No one wants to be the first guy.

 

All of this analysis of the refereeing in the MLS Cup is
spot on. But it should be realized that Stott refereed
a typical MLS match in accordance with the way
MLS wants their games refereed. This includes keeping cards
to minimum and certainly not risking one
of the stars getting sent off. Remember the unpunished
head butt a couple of years ago? So we see Donovan getting
away with usual dissent and Beckham able to do pretty
much whatever he wanted. 41 fouls is way above the average
for a MLS game this season and this does not count all of the
ones he did not call.

Kevin has been working in MLS for a very long time and his refereeing style
has not changed nor has he improved over the years. He does
exactly as his bosses want and is willing to
ignore certain aspects of the Laws in order
to do so. This is why they like him and why he
has been successful.

The fact that he did his third MLS Cup says a
lot. In most pro leagues someone gets the
big game only once. Even in the old NASL a different referee
worked each Soccer Bowl. Is this another indication
of the lack of development of pro referees
in the US? They have to select someone who has
worked the final on two previous occasions. Is there
no one else who is good enough to be given
the chance?

PH