Getty Images In this piece, veteran Soccer America writer Ridge Mahoney says MLS referees are getting tougher and assessing second yellow cards at a greater and helpful rate. And the men in the middle are getting it right in many cases.
The problem remains the referees’ inconsistencies, which is infuriating to fans, players and coaches.
So second bookings send some guys to the showers – while some of the equally guilty are getting off light. Seattle’s Andy Rose, for instance, was granted leniency for his ridiculous challenge on Freddy Adu a couple of weeks ago, a foul that should have been Rose’s second caution and subsequent ejection.
And then over the weekend, Landon Donovan was on one yellow for an intentional handball when he barreled into the back of Chivas USA defender Rauwshan McKenzie. It was unnecessary and dangerous, clearly a product of frustration that is settling into L.A. Galaxy Valley. Donovan isn’t a dirty player, but he made a mistake here. (I would show you the video, but it’s not part of MLSSoccer’s highlight pack. Boooo!)
It probably should have been a second booking.
Compare that to, say, Philadelphia’s Freddy Adu’s second booking two weeks ago for diving. Or to Dallas’ Zach Loyd’s second booking for a fairly innocuous foul. And those are just a few of the examples. (In that case, both players had to sit out the same match as their sides met over the weekend, so it more or less balanced out on that end.)
MLS is trying hard to level out the officiating – but there are clearly still miles to go.
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- chadmoon1 - May 21, 2012 at 4:13 PM
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The constant search for “consistency” in refereeing in MLS, or any league around the world, is a fallacy. No referee does a game just like another referee. The only thing that can be hoped for by players from the referee is consistency within the same game. Teams and players have to learn to adapt to what the referee is doing in a game, and the referee must sometimes change his own tactics due to circumstances in a particular game.
As for 2 of the instances referred to above, Freddy Adu deserved his 2nd card if for no other reason for acting like a complete ass after getting the 1st one. He did dive in my estimation, and even if if wasn’t as bad as Grazzini’s dive in the Chicago game this weekend (which was rightly carded), it was still a dive. Now what the NYRB player was daring to complain about on either card has me wondering what soccer planet he came from, because on this planet those 2 fouls were easily cards, and the first card could be justified as straight red.
This leads me to what I believe to be the true scurge of the game today. Players now complain, chase referees around the field, and act in such disrespect for the game itself that it has become unwatchable. David Lopes was sent off for LA against Chivas for handling on the goal line. He knew he did it, the referee did too, but instead of leaving the field immediately, he stalked around and argued with the referee for 2 minutes. He should be fined and suspended for that alone. And all other players as well. This must stop, because if you don’t believe that this has an effect on lower leagues, I would challenge you to come and watch competitive under 12 games, and players there are doing the same things. Why? Because they see it at games and on TV.
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- sluggo271 - May 21, 2012 at 7:21 PM
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Amen!!! MLS is or the players in MLS need to be more professional. Just look at the difference in class between that champions league final and an average MLS game. Not one did I witness a player openly arguing with a referee for minutes(clearly dissent). Never would you see players surrounding the referee over a pushing foul or something as inane.
Theire is just no respect for the game here and it is very ugly. The MLSdisciplnary committe needs to crack down on players who bring the game into disrepute also. ACT LIKE A PROFESSIONAL!!!
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- sluggo271 - May 21, 2012 at 7:25 PM
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One more thing. At the end of the Champions League final. The first thing I noticed was the complete respect towards the referee crew as they climbed that massive flight of stairs to receive THEIR medals for officiating was has to be their toughest assignment in their lives. That is pure class! I would love to see that here. But I am glad to have just seen it.
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- term3186 - May 22, 2012 at 11:21 AM
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Whoa whoa whoa. Don’t get me wrong, the players should quit harassing the referee (maybe thy should be a bit quicker on the dissent cards) but let’s not pretend they’re any better across the pond. If anything they’re worse in the European leagues. Champions ’09 semifinal anyone?
