MLS is treating fans with contempt as the referee strike rumbles on

MAnagers have been known to talk about referees. In Major League Soccer, however, the discussion about officiating has entered new territory. The league’s regular referees are at home in the midst of a lockout that won’t end anytime soon. The games are being officiated by substitute officials drawn from the lower levels of American soccer, Turkey, Poland, Jamaica and other leagues, and people are starting to take notice.

CF Montréal head coach Laurent Courtois had a long list of complaints after watching his team lose 4-3 to the Chicago Fire. “Twenty-two minutes extra, red card for the (Chicago) goalkeeper that is not given, their third goal came from a corner that should not have been scored, their first goal was offside,” he faltered. “Something was taken from my boys.”

Dean Smith also had something to say about a stonewall penalty. Charlotte FC was denied in a 2-1 loss to Nashville SC, while LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney spoke out about the questionable performance in his side’s 3-3 draw with St. Louis City. , in which Martín Cáceres was sent off in injury time.

In general, managers and players initially stayed out of the ongoing labor dispute between the MLS (through the league-funded Professional Referee Organization) and the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), but now more and more people are speaking out. As a product, the league is poorer because there are substandard referees. At a time when more eyes than ever are on MLS thanks to Lionel Messi, it has become a problem.

Don Garber does his best to insist that this is not the case. According to the commissioner, MLS is “more than willing” to use replacement officials for as long as necessary. MLS vice president Nelson Rodriguez was allegedly written in an internal memo that the replacement referees are as good as the standout PSRA officials and “(maintain) consistency in the quality of officiating.”

However, the evidence contradicts that. There have been more overturned decisions using VAR per match so far this season than in 2023. PRO GM Mark Geiger said in a interview with ESPN earlier this month that the replacement referees, using PRO’s own points system, have failed to meet the standard set by the usual referees in 2023.

“Services are not an exact science,” says Garber told the Athletics. And he’s right. But Garber treats managers, players and fans with contempt by pretending there has not been a noticeable decline in the quality of refereeing. Everyone can see it. There has been a blunder almost every week this season that has changed the rules of the game.

On the opening weekend, Mark Delgado was wrongly sent off for the LA Galaxy just minutes before Inter Miami scored the equalizer. The following week, a throw-in awarded to the wrong team led to the Philadelphia Union picking up a point against Sporting KC. Then there was Chicago Fire’s first goal in Saturday’s comeback win over CF Montréal, which should have been disallowed for offside but was allowed to stand without VAR review.

By appointing replacement referees and claiming that they are just as good as their predecessors, the MLS has only succeeded in highlighting the value of good officials. Of course, mistakes are also made by PRSA officials, but absence has made the heart grow fonder. Even fans – traditionally the harshest and most vociferous critics of referees – chant and show their support for the left out referees.

MLS hasn’t exactly presented itself in a positive light so far this year. In addition to the banning of the officials, the league took on the broader U.S. Soccer Association by unilaterally withdrawing its teams from the U.S. Open Cup. Supporter outrage led to a reversal, but only to the extent that eight senior MLS teams will participate in this season’s tournament. The end result: MLS ended the US Open Cup, as it had been for more than a century.

That was a controversy that played out in the public eye, while the referee’s strike was a drama behind closed doors. The relationship between the PSRA and PRO has soured so much that the impasse is now about more than just money and working conditions. “(The dispute) has unfortunately become a matter of emotion and ego,” PRSA President Peter Manikowski told the newspaper Verde all day newsletter.

It would cost $95,000 per team for MLS to reinstall permanent referees. However, Garber claims that PRO’s latest offering would have made PRSA’s membership “among the highest paid officers in the world.” Instead, the offer was rejected by 95% of voting members. No further negotiations have taken place since March 5 and it is not clear when the two sides will meet again.

Even if MLS is right to consider the financial implications of agreeing to PRSA’s demands, the rhetoric from Garber and others has made the situation worse. Not for the first time in 2024, MLS is on one side with the people who make the league what it is – managers, players, fans – on the other. The longer the referee strike continues, the longer the 2024 season will be undermined.