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View Full Version : Onward! - A yellow card for MLS



Ben Knight
05-01-2009, 08:53 AM
http://onwardsoccer.com/2009/05/01/a-yellow-card-for-mls/

Roogsy
05-01-2009, 08:58 AM
I say again, Italy has an age-limit for refs. No matter how good you are, you’re finished at 45. And while I think this rule is insanity itself, it creates a fine opportunity for MLS. Throw some money at some 46-year-old Italians! Let them run clinics, ref some games, do some serious assessment work on the current crop of officials.


BEN! You're a genius!

This needs to happen!

Mr. Beirne...please, please submit this as an idea! MLS reffing needs to improve. Italian refs are some of the best in the world. This idea has zero downside!

Yohan
05-01-2009, 09:02 AM
MLS head office has ego bigger than Landon Donovan

To get top European refs to mentor MLS refs is admitting that MLS refs suck, and that ruins the image that MLS is trying to produce that MLS is a quality league. Not to mention severe loss of face.

So MLS will continue to clamp down on any mild criticism of refs, and not do much about ref controversies. Latest news out of Blanco/Marrufo incident has me seething

Parkdale
05-01-2009, 09:03 AM
very good article ben.

best line:


The goal isn’t to single anyone out or make a bunch of well-meaning over-matched card wavers look bad. MLS refs can do that all on their own – and do, most weeks.

sully
05-01-2009, 09:05 AM
if MLS is about image, then the image of MLS taking steps to invest and improve in its refereeing standards looks good in my mind.. Ben's is a great suggestion, as is Roogsy's..

Roogsy
05-01-2009, 09:08 AM
Ah ego...always the obstacle to improvement. I suppose MLS would be hesitant to admit that at the very least, they have 2nd rate officials, at worst, the whole league doesn't measure up.

Funny how when you put ego aside, you can usually reach your goals faster.

Yohan
05-01-2009, 09:08 AM
if MLS is about image, then the image of MLS taking steps to invest and improve in its refereeing standards looks good in my mind.. Ben's is a great suggestion, as is Roogsy's..
It's like Emperor's new cloak...

FO: whaddaya mean the league has shitty refs right now? heresy! our refs are fine and dandy, thank you :rolleyes:

CoachGT
05-01-2009, 09:10 AM
Read the comments in the KC paper about their coach's fine. He tries to backpeddle afterwards, but his comment is about how they've greatly improved over the years! Just how bad were they before we joined the league if they're much improved now?

Parkdale
05-01-2009, 09:12 AM
It's like Emperor's new cloak...


clothes.

Jedi Knights wear cloaks but the emperor wears new clothes.

Roogsy
05-01-2009, 09:12 AM
Read the comments in the KC paper about their coach's fine. He tries to backpeddle afterwards, but his comment is about how they've greatly improved over the years! Just how bad were they before we joined the league if they're much improved now?

Just the though of this makes me...
:puke:

Parkdale
05-01-2009, 09:12 AM
side note:

Ben - would you consider naming a son 'Jed I. Knight' just for fun?

Yohan
05-01-2009, 09:13 AM
clothes.

Jedi Knights wear cloaks but the emperor wears new clothes.
d'oh...

H Bomb
05-01-2009, 09:15 AM
The idea of bringing retired italians has been talked about since the first year we were in the league....Made sense then, makes sense now

CoachGT
05-01-2009, 09:31 AM
I still like the idea of taking refs from other leagues - EPL, SPL, Budesliga, Serie A and La Liga - and bringing them here in their off season, putting one in each crew and having them in a mentorship situation. It keeps them busy and sharp through the summer, especially for developing refs (their developing would be far superior to what we have) and would help out immensely.

FYI, NHL refs have a pretty hefty regime post game. They have to head back to their hotel rooms and go over their calls with a supervisor immediately after every game - all games are watched by the supervisors in a war room in Toronto. Everything is done using laptops. If there are changes in the rules, refs are given video of how something should be called, so that all of them get the same message. There is still some individual discretion but there is generally a greater degree of consistancy amongst officials. Why can't MLS copy a system like that?

CretanBull
05-01-2009, 09:39 AM
I'd take a crew of one legged Italian professionals over the chumps that we have now. Ben makes an excellent point, there isn't enough lower level scoccer being played in North America for the refs to train and practice in, and of the lower level leagues there's too wide of a gap in quality between them and the MLS. Refs need to be better, but the MLS shouldn't be their training ground. They need to learn to offciate high-speed games somewhere else before coming here.

rocker
05-01-2009, 10:09 AM
what's Collina doing now? that guy would be a kick ass consultant for MLS. And having him do a game each week or two would be sweet.

Chevy
05-01-2009, 10:13 AM
Sign a DP Referee!

felipe
05-01-2009, 10:15 AM
I'll disagree...the original purpose of this league was to raise the standard of play at the domestic level, to make the national team better - and to a large degree they've suceeded...I'm sure they are trying to do that with the referee standard as well; replacing them with a bunch of 'DP' refs doesn't help anyone get any better.

Although coachgt makes a lot of sense - the only problem with sprinkling refs from a variety of the major leagues - is the incredible inconsistency it would create as a ref standard; a ref in Spain calls the game quite a bit differently than an Englishman.

but if we could attract refs from a particular league, whose style we would like to emulate, - and then sprinkle them in - it could work.

But, the MLS probably pays their refs shit, and probably wouldn't be interested in laying out more cash on something as 'meaningless' as refs.

(And what right thinking Italian is going to want to come to work in Houston or Kansas or Columbus instead of enjoying the summer @ home?)

DOMIN8R
05-01-2009, 10:15 AM
Sign a DP Referee!

Perfect.

TOBOR !
05-01-2009, 10:26 AM
Italy has an age-limit for refs. No matter how good you are, you’re finished at 45. And while I think this rule is insanity itself, it creates a fine opportunity for MLS. Throw some money at some 46-year-old Italians! Let them run clinics, ref some games, do some serious assessment work on the current crop of officials.

Yeah, they could show you how to properly take a kickback and not get caught !

Beach_Red
05-01-2009, 10:30 AM
I've never heard of a sports league where the fans aren't constantly complaining about the refs.

Pachuco
05-01-2009, 10:51 AM
I've never heard of a sports league where the fans aren't constantly complaining about the refs.

Man I completely agree with you. I don't know what it is, but I haven't seen that the refs are any worse then other leagues. There are always the ones who complain about the refs, and then there are those like Chris Cummins who says it doesn't bother him because those plays sometimes go your way and sometimes they don't. It's just too easy to sit here and complain.

My god, let's go back to the World Cup where the best refs in the world work and see all the crappy games that were decided by refs.

Let's play some footie and let's stop relying on the refs to win us games!

trane
05-01-2009, 10:57 AM
clothes.

Jedi Knights wear cloaks but the emperor wears new clothes.

What if the emperor is a Jedi? What would he wear?

CretanBull
05-01-2009, 11:00 AM
I've never heard of a sports league where the fans aren't constantly complaining about the refs.

It's true, who hasn't watched a hockey game and thought that the refs sucked. The difference though is that when watching a NHL game you can't honestly point to another league and think that the officiating is better. Of course there are bad calls & missed calls, but at the end of the day a NHL ref is one of the best refs in the world.

That can't be said for the MLS. I can point to 20 leagues with better officiating.

Suds
05-01-2009, 11:33 AM
It's true, who hasn't watched a hockey game and thought that the refs sucked. The difference though is that when watching a NHL game you can't honestly point to another league and think that the officiating is better. Of course there are bad calls & missed calls, but at the end of the day a NHL ref is one of the best refs in the world.

That can't be said for the MLS. I can point to 20 leagues with better officiating.

Yes. This is a key distinction if we are to compare MLS to other leagues or sports. I don't think there is any argument that other leagues have invested in the referees and therefore have better and much more consistant officiating.

Mistakes happen; the refs are only human. But the MLS needs to make a concerted effort to invest in the referees in the MLS. If the MLS is not willing to make this investment, the league and the fans can't expect to to see better officiating.

I like the ideas on here that talk to a mentoring program of some sort where experienced/retired refs who have shown to be of high quality in their career are brought in to train the refs in N.A.

Toronto_Bhoy
05-01-2009, 11:39 AM
I said the exact same thing here last season.

The EPL, Serie A and LeLiga all have mandatory retirement policies for officials…bring them over to work with domestic refs.

Have them work "regionally" doing big games and as fourth officials…the league needs a mentoring program.

Regardless of what you think of them…lots of these guys could still ref… Graham Poll, Jeff Winters, Hugh Dallas and of course Pierluigi Collina.

We need DR's as much as DP's!

Beach_Red
05-01-2009, 11:45 AM
It's true, who hasn't watched a hockey game and thought that the refs sucked. The difference though is that when watching a NHL game you can't honestly point to another league and think that the officiating is better. Of course there are bad calls & missed calls, but at the end of the day a NHL ref is one of the best refs in the world.

That can't be said for the MLS. I can point to 20 leagues with better officiating.


I've never seen domestic European hockey games, I have no idea how good the refs are in those leagues. I guess NHL refs are better than AHL refs and OHL refs (though I've seen a bunch of OHL games and sometimes the refs are excellent). But the NHL keeps changing the rules, so it's hard to tell. In the crease, not in the crease, clutch and grab, hooking, not hooking, what are we calling this year? That's what bugs me about the NHL.

If the refs are just consistently of a certain level then we live with it and hope they get better as the whole league gets better. If they are consistently for one team or another, that's a problem.

Cumins is right, it's the same for every team, ignore it and win games. Let it get to you and you'll lose.

Suds
05-01-2009, 11:52 AM
But the NHL keeps changing the rules, so it's hard to tell. In the crease, not in the crease, clutch and grab, hooking, not hooking, what are we calling this year? That's what bugs me about the NHL.

This is more a problem with the NHL than the refs.




Cumins is right, it's the same for every team, ignore it and win games. Let it get to you and you'll lose.

Agreed. It had taken me a long time as a player to learn this. Even more key now that I'm getting into coaching.

Focus on what you can control, not what you can't.

Roogsy
05-01-2009, 12:21 PM
Man I completely agree with you. I don't know what it is, but I haven't seen that the refs are any worse then other leagues. There are always the ones who complain about the refs, and then there are those like Chris Cummins who says it doesn't bother him because those plays sometimes go your way and sometimes they don't. It's just too easy to sit here and complain.

My god, let's go back to the World Cup where the best refs in the world work and see all the crappy games that were decided by refs.

Let's play some footie and let's stop relying on the refs to win us games!

We can't ask for both?

denime
05-01-2009, 01:20 PM
Last time I checked 45 years was FIFA rule,not just Italian rule.

45 and up can not be a ref in MLS aether,nice try though.

Dozitwin
05-01-2009, 01:40 PM
MLS head office has ego bigger than Landon Donovan

To get top European refs to mentor MLS refs is admitting that MLS refs suck, and that ruins the image that MLS is trying to produce that MLS is a quality league. Not to mention severe loss of face.

So MLS will continue to clamp down on any mild criticism of refs, and not do much about ref controversies. Latest news out of Blanco/Marrufo incident has me seething

Or they could view it as a way to show a committment to quality and demonstrate a effort to continually improve the standard of League as a whole.

Suds
05-01-2009, 01:42 PM
Last time I checked 45 years was FIFA rule,not just Italian rule.

45 and up can not be a ref in MLS aether,nice try though.

I'm pretty sure you are correct on the mandatory retirement being a FIFA rule.

But many of these top retired refs could definitely work as mentors, consultants etc.

Found an interview with Collin from back on October 2008 http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/31/q-a-pierluigi-collina/

Yohan
05-01-2009, 03:07 PM
Or they could view it as a way to show a committment to quality and demonstrate a effort to continually improve the standard of League as a whole.you dont ask for for much, do you? ;)

redcard47
05-01-2009, 03:15 PM
Last time I checked 45 years was FIFA rule,not just Italian rule.

45 and up can not be a ref in MLS aether,nice try though.

It applies solely to delisting FIFA referees and assistant referees; although some federations, like Italy, adopt the policy for their domestic competetions.

In England the "retirement" age for referees is 49, that's why Steve Bennett for example, at the age of 48 was still officiating this season in the EPL.

Mark in Ottawa
05-01-2009, 05:59 PM
This is an opportunity for MLS to show support for their referees...
"Gentlemen.. we want you to be the best that you can be.
We are therefore providing referee clinics and possibly games featuring officials who have officiated at some of the highest levels of the game.
We trust that you will take this opportunity to furthen your officiating skills in the hope that someday you too will be able to pass on your wealth of knowledge to the officials who follow in your footsteps".

just a no brainer!

Yohan
05-01-2009, 06:04 PM
more I think about this, more I think DG and MLS FO is like insecure girl

a bit of flash and cute, but inside, worried about how it is thought of by rest of the world because she thinks she's all that

iansmcl
05-02-2009, 09:20 AM
What if the emperor is a Jedi? What would he wear?

Probably this...

http://c2.api.ning.com/files/V3d3OCp3A2MLbERwMVCTpLUirpi6pecwnuV-MdnaqlL15nGjQhQIY5V1GugVbU0QnwZ4WFLwclbRmJXHlqTwn4 AOcIhl5XEK/EmperorPalpatine.jpg
http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/c2.api.ning.com/files/V3d3OCp3A2MLbERwMVCTpLUirpi6pecwnuV-MdnaqlL15nGjQhQIY5V1GugVbU0QnwZ4WFLwclbRmJXHlqTwn4 AOcIhl5XEK/EmperorPalpatine.jpg