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View Full Version : Should MLS import refs from Europe



Qman
05-26-2015, 04:45 PM
PRO refs have been a disgrace this season ... well every season.
recently read that a few of the asian leagues bring in refs from Germany.

Should MLS bring in experienced European refs for the summer (european off-season)?

ensco
05-26-2015, 04:58 PM
What, and drive up the costs for every team for no good reason?

Haven't you been watching Leiweke hammer the few timid souls with the gall to suggest that the Argos thing could ever be remotely bad for soccer? If the league tells the suckers the refereeing is good enough, then it's good enough.

Besides, it provides too many laughs at the league parties to see that they can actually package the refereeing gaffes into a weekly video program on mlssoccer.com that people seem to really enjoy. There's probably money in making the refereeing worse!

Yohan
05-26-2015, 05:25 PM
If you don't give domestic refs the chance to ref in the big leagues, when are you going to grow your crop of domestic refs?

MLS does have one European ref (Alan Kelly) with so so results. (then again, no one is ever satisfied with a ref) and brought another Greek ref for a bit during ref strike last season.

BuSaPuNk
05-26-2015, 06:07 PM
I would like PRO to start taking there refs seriously and start some of them on the road to getting full FIFA licences.

If i remeber correctly they did bring in a Irish FA guy last year or something to address the training of officials.

Id like to see more dollars being spent on making the system to bring up and train these guys and gals properly.

Qman
05-26-2015, 06:16 PM
You don't see improvement if their is 1) not more competition for spots and 2) they don't put more money into officiating (pay/training). While MLS is not the big leagues, USL should be a training ground not MLS league games. By paying up to bringing guys in from europe (i'm talking premiership/championship or bundesliga refs) you get to gauge the quality, bring up the quality of local refs, and help out in the summer when the schedule is busier and PRO is spread thin (lots of midweek games).

OgtheDim
05-26-2015, 06:29 PM
Need to pay them enough to make it worth their while to come over. As proven in the negotiations last year with the ref union, the league sees refs as less then important, and assistant's as barely existent.

MartinUtd
05-26-2015, 06:49 PM
Given the nature of MLS we'd probably see a social media experiment along the lines of "Live Online Voting For Each Call" before we see any modicum of professionalism.

Qman
05-26-2015, 07:01 PM
i'm pretty sure championship refs make about the same as PRO MLS -- $30-$40k if your in the main rotation. about $1000 a game. Premiership refs usually have retainer + per game which usually is more than $100k all in for top group.

prizby
05-26-2015, 07:30 PM
Need to pay them enough to make it worth their while to come over. As proven in the negotiations last year with the ref union, the league sees refs as less then important, and assistant's as barely existent.

thats why alan kelly was an easy get; they pay a lot more here than league of ireland; im sure MLS pays more than a lot of mid-tier leagues; can we snag someone from Scotland, Portugal, Switzerland etc...

Alixir
05-26-2015, 08:52 PM
Given the nature of MLS we'd probably see a social media experiment along the lines of "Live Online Voting For Each Call" before we see any modicum of professionalism.If you think it was a penalty text 45678 now. If you think its was a dive text to 45677.
Enter now!
The popular vote results are in folks!!!...turns out its not a throw-in for TFC its a red card!

Shway
05-26-2015, 09:10 PM
Besides, it provides too many laughs at the league parties to see that they can actually package the refereeing gaffes into a weekly video program on mlssoccer.com that people seem to really enjoy. There's probably money in making the refereeing worse!

This!

I find it pretty stupid that they would approve that considering the amount of scrutiny the refs get year in and out.

And then they have the stupid Disco (discipline committee) to cover for the refs mistakes, but I won't start on that....

Ultra & Proud
05-26-2015, 10:16 PM
PRO refs have been a disgrace this season ... well every season.
recently read that a few of the asian leagues bring in refs from Germany.

Should MLS bring in experienced European refs for the summer (european off-season)?


Need to pay them enough to make it worth their while to come over. As proven in the negotiations last year with the ref union, the league sees refs as less then important, and assistant's as barely existent.
But can't have them getting paid more than most of the young players in the league. Thus the problem with the MLS cheapo to non-star salary structure.

ryan
05-27-2015, 08:15 AM
As much as I hate CONCACAF/MLS refs, you have to grow them.

Instead of spending on "buying" better refs, invest in our own. Perhaps acquiring a couple higher quality foreigners to bring along our own, but ours have to be the focus.

Fort York Redcoat
05-27-2015, 08:31 AM
What, and drive up the costs for every team for no good reason?

Haven't you been watching Leiweke hammer the few timid souls with the gall to suggest that the Argos thing could ever be remotely bad for soccer? If the league tells the suckers the refereeing is good enough, then it's good enough.

Besides, it provides too many laughs at the league parties to see that they can actually package the refereeing gaffes into a weekly video program on mlssoccer.com that people seem to really enjoy. There's probably money in making the refereeing worse!

No. I've been seeing Lieweke looking for ways to placate those with reservations and failing but I assume you mean some other people.

As outlined between our posts it wouldn't drive up costs to bring foreign refs into the league but I don't think they should be taking every job or potential growth in quality from MLS refs. I like hearing their are some but they shouldn't make up a majority or even half the total number of positions in the league.

ensco
05-27-2015, 08:45 AM
No. I've been seeing Lieweke looking for ways to placate those with reservations and failing but I assume you mean some other people.


Leiweke has been absolutely browbeating people who ask legit questions by making it personal, because he guarantees about the "certainty" that the Argos won't impact the playing surface.

It is a cheap assertiveness trick that relies on the fact that journos can't call this obvious bs for what it is without severe consequences.

that "Do you like Seba?" crap he pulled in the stands when challenged -repeatedly -on the weekend also got my goat - like this reno with massive longterm implications is in the same category as a player signing (what, we didn't notice that Defoe is already gone?)

Point is, we live in a world where people think they can sell anything, doesn't mean I have to buy it.

Fort York Redcoat
05-27-2015, 08:53 AM
Leiweke has been absolutely browbeating people who ask legit questions by making it personal, because he guarantees about the "certainty" that the Argos won't impact the playing surface.

It is a cheap assertiveness trick that relies on the fact that journos can't call this obvious bs for what it is without severe consequences.

that "Do you like Seba? crap he pulled repeatedly on the weekend also got my goat - like this thing with massive longterm implications is the same, like we didn't notice that Defoe is already gone? that Leiweke himself is gone in 2 months?

Point is, we live in a world where people think they can sell anything, doesn't mean I have to buy it.

Oh ok. That's cool, ensco. As I rely on you and others to tell me what journos are saying and doing I didn't see any of that and it's regrettable(read shameful) and I'm glad we can wholeheartedly agree on that telling video:

A businessman of his standing, as was mentioned by another, in a suit in the stands trying to appeal to the supporters with beer is a mixed message in optics but as you point out - Chest thumping in the smarmiest way possible - pointing out how much money he's spent for players we don't take issue with at all is a sad rebuttal.

Alixir
05-27-2015, 08:55 AM
As much as I hate CONCACAF/MLS refs, you have to grow them.

Instead of spending on "buying" better refs, invest in our own. Perhaps acquiring a couple higher quality foreigners to bring along our own, but ours have to be the focus.but in order for MLS to grow them they have to show some backbone and reprimand them for shotty calls every once in a while instead of taking the side of the refs 100% of the time.
When the refs constantly get away with shite officiating then they will not grow...they will continue to decide the outcome of games.

ensco
05-27-2015, 08:58 AM
The investment in players is exciting if it works, but world football is littered with examples of franchises that have been wrecked by this, with the perpetrator(s) long gone when the reckoning comes. Also, it's being done as an investment, a speculative one, sure, but Leiweke has promised a reutrn on the dollars spent on Seba et al.

The stadium reno, that's 100% been about the fact that other priorities are more important to MLSE than TFC, and no amount of exec browbeating can change that.

Huyton
05-27-2015, 09:29 AM
Perhaps we should be having some Designated Referees to go with our Designated Players?

ag futbol
05-27-2015, 09:57 AM
No they shouldn't, because it is not addressing the real issue: MLS not investing in officiating in the first place.

People believe it's simply a matter of these guys having bad judgement. But what they ignore is, that a consistent officiating product takes a lot of back-end work. Guys go to conferences, set standards, train continually, to get the product you see elsewhere in the world. They don't just show up and make better calls.

MLS pays linemen next to nothing, they are getting what they pay for in the area. The officials JUST started being given enough of a budget to have a conference a year. And we wonder why there are such wild inconsistencies?!?

They are basically having a buch of low paid people show up and the whole process is held together with duct tape, hope, and dreams.

Seen
05-27-2015, 03:39 PM
I always hoped MLS would throw a truck load of cash at Collina when he retired. Not to actually ref (unless he wanted to), but to teach/instruct the MLS refs. For me, he is the best I've seen. I know it would never happen but one can dream.

Qman
05-27-2015, 03:47 PM
Perhaps we should be having some Designated Referees to go with our Designated Players?


get howard webb over for the summer. I'd even pay a surtax on my tickets to pay for it.

:flare:

Richard
05-27-2015, 04:42 PM
get howard webb over for the summer. I'd even pay a surtax on my tickets to pay for it.

:flare:

To bad he is retired.

MLS hasn't shown the willingness to raise the standards when it comes to refs, they are penny pinching and paying for the cheapest option.

Its yet another reason why this is still a Bush league.