Where do I start? I have lots of choices . . .

    To begin at the beginning . . . and then let's see where it takes us.  There's lots been happening, so I'll start with the opening MLS match, and in a few blogs we can visit El Clasico in Spain more than once, look at some 'orrible fouls, talk about snow on the pitch, see an assistant referee get creamed by a player, and before you know it we'll be at the Chelsea/Manchester United match this coming weekend to see if Howard Webb is going to do what he is supposed to.

     It had been a while since I sat and watched a complete game in MLS, because quite frankly, the play has been poor, and the refereeing disappointing, despite several years of sincere efforts to improve the officiating.  So I determined to stay for this entire match--Seattle versus Los Angeles--because I had been hearing things from Chicago and from MLS that certain administrators were determined to clean up our game, and bring it into the world community of officiating.  That implied a continuation of what Brian Hall, Paul Tamberino, Herb Silva and others had been attempting to do: overcome the effect of the first few years in MLS, when strange concepts pervaded the game in this country.  "Balance" anyone?

    The referee was Alex Prus, who has been in MLS for many years.  On the times I have seen him, I was never very impressed.  I had seen too many bad tackles go unpunished; he didn't concern himself with efficiently enforcing all the laws; and then there was that unpunished head-butt in the MLS final a few years ago.  His demeanor on the field was almost lackadaisical, too casual for what the game demands.  But then people do change, don't they?  (Can I become an optimist, then?)

    Not after this match, I couldn't.  The first free kick of the game was in the third minute, and Prus made no attempt to keep defending players away from the ball.  So the free kick was delayed, and was therefore no longer "free".  Now if you've watched teams coached by Sigi Schmid, you will have noticed that he orchestrates delays at almost every free kick, from beyond midfield to his own goal.  His teams do not allow a free kick to be taken quickly.  You can almost hear the shouts at practice: "Bodies behind the ball, bodies behind the ball!"  So the referee going into the game must have a strategy ready to combat this cheating, for that is what it is.  And Prus?  He couldn't have cared less . . .

    The pattern continued for both teams throughout the entire game: 24 minutes; 70 minutes (nine men behind the ball); 88 minutes (10 players behind the ball, the last one coming in when the referee left the ball).  These weren't all of them by any means.  Law 13 was erased from the contest.

    I have evaluated referees at all levels of the game, and of course pointed out this weakness.  Most don't seem to care, and say something like: "I have more important things to worry about than delaying of free kicks."  To which I usually reply: "Thousands of referees before you have been able to manage a game, control the players and enforce all its laws.  Why can't you?"

    And did I mention that Landon Donovan was hit late and high, with no appropriate punishment handed out?  One of the marquee players in the league not protected by one of the most experienced referees in the league?  We've got to do better than this.

Comments

[John]

I think he did a good job as a referee. But then again it is easy to break down a referee when you are in the stands. It's another thing to be running up and down for 90 minutes and trying your best.

John: My perspective is always that of a referee "in the trenches" for more than twenty years, not as a casual observer from the stands. RE.

[bert rizzo]

i do not believe that frd exists. no matter who i watch on tv or in person, it is the rare ref that seems to care about the 10 yds.

i remember one year really trying to do it correctly and getting banned from a tournament after i yc'd 2 guys for frd.

Bert: I am surprised that you were banned for doing that. The tournament people obviously need educating! RE

[OMG not again]

First welcome back.
Do you not think this failure can in some ways be attributed to the lack of adequate Observers in the higher game. Before you can fail a National (Or F.I.F.A.)then Chicago( Or possibly now NY depending on who get's the ultimate authority) has the final say, so to a degree it becomes moot.Given that these are the chosen hand reared chicks there will be little if any negative actions taken. What a great concept, teach from the top down what should happen.
Thanks for all you years bashing your head against the political wall.