sounds good to me. that's on top of a monday-friday job. I assume mls/ussf pays airfare and accomidations too.
I saw portions of each game, and from what I saw, the referreeing was very good. My only complaint was that Cunningham was not sent off after choking Leitch by putting both hands around his neck. A yellow card was not enough. Btw Cunningham was frustrated by the Metro's rookie Jeff Parke.
Let's just say for **********s and giggles that Brian Hall (who undoubtedly is a top five ref) will work 25 matches this season.. That right there is just over $15,000 for mostly weekend work.. All expenses are being paid by MLS (air travel, hotel and per diem).. Also include the handful of international matches (where Hall is quickly climbing the ladder) and other matches (Open Cup, A-League, etc..) and Brian Hall is probably getting an additional $25,000 on top of his regular job salary.. Don't know about you but I could live with an extra $15-25k a year doing something I love to do.. Where do I sign up?
If you think that the only "work" the referee does is on the field, you are sorely mistaken. They must participate in weekly teleconferences, attend training workshops throughout the year, keep updated with position papers that come out from USSF, study for and pass annual tests - both written and fitness, plus study their own game tapes afterwards to go along with their evaluation to see in what areas they need to improve, and I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other things they must do to prepare for each game. Your numbers are a tad bit off.
Except for stuff like reviewing game tapes and performance reviews after every match, virtually every USSF ref has the same off-field work. The pay for MLS work is not too low when compared to the rest of the pay structure for referees. No ref at this level is in it for the money. They want to be part of the beautiful game. The underpaid refs are the ones who get $10 to get abused by moms and dads at neighborhood kids games or the ones who get $60 for adult amateurs who commit many more fouls and don't face league fines for drawing red cards. These games are tougher to ref than the pros.
Not true. The vast majority of referees (entry level Grade 8 and higher, which account for about 95% of all officials in the country) don't have to pass recertification fitness or written exams. To keep their badge, they pay $25 and attend one 4 hour clinic per year. Referees at the MLS level attend a week-long national camp (which they have to pass 3 assessments just to be allowed to attend) with daily fitness tests and a written exam that is infinitely more difficult than the entry level and state referee exams. They also attend a mid-year fitness exam and must attend (and instruct) various clinics throughout the year. Add in the watching of tapes (your own performances post-game, plus tapes of the teams you'll be reffing), which most referees do twice (once to watch the game and tactics of the teams, once to watch the official and look for areas to improve), the weekly teleconferences, the assessments (both in-stadium and one online or via phone), and the daily training (you have to be the same sort of shape as the players), and there's no question that referees at this level put in incredible amounts of effort compared to your typical recreational referee who does youth or amateur matches on the weekend. I agree with everything you're saying here. However, while the pay structure is 'not too low' in comparison to the rest of the pay structure, it doesn't make it just for the amount of effort put in. Most youth referee fee structures are fair (and some very generous) around the country. Amateur fees vary (some grossly unfair--leagues that pay less than youth matches, while others probably overpay). However, the professional referee fee structure is not 'fair' by any stretch. The fees for USL matches are only slightly higher than top amateur games (and, in some cases, they are lower). That said, referees at this level understand that the game in the US is just taking of, and there's barely enough money to pay MLS players adequately and keep some USL teams operating, so they understand why their pay is low and they are in it for the love of the game--not the money. But that doesn't change the fact that--like the players--their pay is low. As some who has reffed youth, amateur, and professional matches, I can tell you that you're wrong. Quite frankly, youth matches, if you know what you're doing, are typically easy. Amateur matches can cause some interesting problems (especially if you're working alone) and some D1 amateur matches are the hardest I've done. However, on the whole, professional matches are by far and away the toughest. The speed and skill at the pro level dwarf the amateur level and a referee has to be right there with play at all times and also has to be aware of the tactics that various teams employ. Moreover, you're assessed and watched in every professional game you do--one bad screw-up or failed assessment and you could be done at that level. That kind of pressure--a pressure that does not exist at the youth or amateur level--is enough to make professional games the toughest to ref.
To add to what Mass wrote, MLS referees generally need to arrive for a match a day ahead of time. There are some cases where you might be allowed to arrive up to five hours before a match, but this is not generally the case. Then the refs are leaving the day after. These guys need to study the teams current tactics in advance of the game, understand relevant statistics such as accumulated caution points which can be a major management tool, a detailed pregame conference with the referee team, inspecting all of the match equipment and visit briefly with each team, there's all of the paperwork to be filled out and filed correctly (which is no small task), understanding all of the safety proceedures specific to each facility, and then all of the match followup when you get home. I'm still probably leaving other things out that just aren't coming to me. Sure, for a top guy, the money might not be terrible. However, he won't get 25 MLS games this year. It looks like few refs get more that 17 or so in any one season. There are about 67 referees and ARs in the MLS pool this year and a large number of internationals (I don't know much about the pay for something like the Champions World series) here in the US to be covered this year. If you actually consider the amount of time a referee works to get that $175 to $600+ a game, the hourly rate is pretty low. Actually, it's on par with a trival second job and this is not a trival job. None of these guys will complain about the pay. They may complain about the ridiculous scale and ranking structure, but that's different. In any event, there's a lot more to reffing at that level than just dividing the fee by the number of hours it takes to play a game. When you leave on a Friday and come home Sunday, I'd say the number of hours it takes to work a match, at the very least, begins the second you walk out the door and leave for the airport and ends when you get home the day after the game.