Koman Coulibaly of Mali was considered by FIFA to be a better referee than all of the USSF referees who officiate in MLS matches. Could our referees be this bad?
FIFA seems to have a real hard-on for Africa for some reason. A country like Mali has terrible quality in pretty much every aspect of the game yet they'll get a chance to officiate instead of the US. I don't understand it either.
It didn't help that the USSF nominated Jair Maruffo and he went on to have, shall I say, a subpar 2009.
Each confederation nominates a certain number of officials, with the idea that every continent is represented. An American, Jair Marrufo, made the provisional list of 5 CONCACAF referees... http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tou.../78/candidaterefereesrapfwc2010_22oct2008.pdf ..but didn't make the final cut http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_officials CONCACAF sent 4 refs. Africa only has 3 there.
FIFA didn't take any American refs because American refs work in a closed league without promotion and relegation. They don't follow the soccer pyramid, and therefore, don't compete against other refs at a high enough level. It's legislated mediocrity.
I cant believe Baldomero Toledo did not make the World Cup =( Hopefully MLS can lure Chiqui-Dracula to ref in our league!!!