In my last post, I mentioned that I would discuss officiating in a future blog. After reading your feedback and witnessing the many recent discussions about referees in MLS and other sports leagues, I decided to address the topic this week.
As most of you know, based on FIFA rules, the national associations (U.S. Soccer and the Canadian Soccer Association in MLS' case) assign referees for League matches. Dr. Joe Machnik oversees officiating for MLS, working closely with our Director of Player Programs, Alfonso Mondelo. Alfonso was the head coach of two MLS teams and played professionally in Spain. Joe has been associated with the sport for more than 40 years as a player, professional and college coach, athletic director and professional administrator. He has been involved with officiating for decades and has numerous awards for his service to the sport in this area. In addition to managing our officiating, Joe oversees the MLS Disciplinary Committee, is a FIFA and CONCACAF Match Commissioner and works closely with the USSF and CSA on a variety of officiating programs.
We are all well aware that officiating in every league is a tough job. That's the nature of sports. Whether it is the UEFA Champions League semifinals or the NBA Playoffs (or many other examples that exist in recent sporting events throughout the world), officials are faced with making decisions that often affect the outcome of games, but never as much as players and coaches. That, too, is the nature of sports.
Other professional sports leagues and events have incorporated technology into the officiating decision-making process. Whether you are a fan of the NFL's Challenge and Review System or tennis' Hawk-Eye automated line-calling mechanism, technology in certain sports does assist with ensuring the correct call is made. However, FIFA has been very clear that technology is not expected to play a role in officiating decisions for professional soccer.
While many fans do not agree with all referee decisions made on the field, we believe the vast majority of MLS matches are well officiated. It's impossible to think that any job that requires judgment, angles and split-second decision-making will be perfect. The MLS Department of Officiating Services, USSF/CSA, and a group of independent assessors review every MLS game. Also, all of our club coaching staffs submit postgame referee reviews. You would be surprised that many of the most controversial decisions are usually correct. Unlike many broadcasters and fans, we, along with the USSF and CSA, have the benefit of postgame video review using a multitude of camera angles from a variety of broadcast feeds.
A detailed overview of MLS' relationship with the USSF and CSA can be found at MLSnet.com and I also encourage you to check out U.S. Soccer's Referee Week in Review, a transparent review of the key decisions that take place each week. I believe USSF's Week in Review is unique in the sport and is a credit to the Federation's commitment to the area.
That's not to say that every decision is right or every game is well officiated. But it is much better than many people think. Not because I am saying it ... but because the video review proves it.
I'd like to make another important point. Clearly, in recent weeks there have been too many MLS games with multiple yellow cards and in some instances red cards. We often hear phrases like "the referee is a good player manager" or the "referee is losing control" of the game. Well, the responsibility of managing or controlling the game does not just fall upon our referees; it also is the responsibility of our players and coaches.
Our game officials undergo intense training, rigorous review and are committed to the sport. They deserve the respect of our players, coaches, fans and teams.
Like all other aspects of our business, we are always looking to get better. Many programs are already in place to continue the improvement of our officiating program. This year U.S. Soccer and the CSA introduced referee headsets, providing better communications between the referee and assistant referees. U.S. Soccer expanded its instructional format this year to include two camps for MLS referees, one during preseason and one at the All-Star break. Also in 2009, MLS instituted a bonus structure which rewards referees for consistently good performances.
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.
Finally, MLS used to have an incentive program for former MLS players to move into the referee ranks. In other sports leagues, former players (the NBA's Leon Wood and Haywoode Workman, the NFL's Chad Brown and former NHL referee Paul Stewart are examples) have gone on to become successful referees. Unfortunately no former player signed up for the MLS program and it was discontinued. We may revisit a program that will provide better incentives to our former players to enter into a career as a referee. Any former MLS player who wishes to pursue officiating should definitely give me a call.
