Oldtimer
05-19-2009, 02:28 PM
Garber addresses refereeing in the league, and proposes bringing in international referees to train MLS referees!
Moving forward, there are other areas we will discuss with U.S. Soccer and the CSA to address the continued improvement of our officiating program. A few examples include:
• More full-time referees. It was a bold statement by U.S. Soccer when they hired four full-time referees in 2007. Since then we have added two more teams and we will add three more by 2011 with Philadelphia, Vancouver and Portland. We would need to add four more full-time referees by 2011 just to maintain the percentage of games officiated by full-time referees when the program was started. It would be smart to continue to increase the number of full-time referees as we expand.
• Better working conditions for younger referees. There are 150,000 registered referees in the U.S., but many quit due to sideline abuse, lack of a pro career path and poor compensation. We need to provide more incentives for younger referees to develop and desire a career as a professional referee.
• International referee program. This program would feature international referees working with U.S. and Canadian officials in MLS and SUM games. We had a similar program years ago and it is a subject that we will revisit with the USSF and CSA.
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090519&content_id=255296&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
It can't come too soon.
Moving forward, there are other areas we will discuss with U.S. Soccer and the CSA to address the continued improvement of our officiating program. A few examples include:
• More full-time referees. It was a bold statement by U.S. Soccer when they hired four full-time referees in 2007. Since then we have added two more teams and we will add three more by 2011 with Philadelphia, Vancouver and Portland. We would need to add four more full-time referees by 2011 just to maintain the percentage of games officiated by full-time referees when the program was started. It would be smart to continue to increase the number of full-time referees as we expand.
• Better working conditions for younger referees. There are 150,000 registered referees in the U.S., but many quit due to sideline abuse, lack of a pro career path and poor compensation. We need to provide more incentives for younger referees to develop and desire a career as a professional referee.
• International referee program. This program would feature international referees working with U.S. and Canadian officials in MLS and SUM games. We had a similar program years ago and it is a subject that we will revisit with the USSF and CSA.
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090519&content_id=255296&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
It can't come too soon.