What the MLS referee lockout means for North America’s top soccer league
Major League Soccer referees have been ruled out for the start of the 2024 season, which starts on Wednesday evening with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami against Real Salt Lake.
The Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the union representing referees who officiate MLS matches, convicted the exclusion by the MLS and the league’s refereeing organization. The lockout, a denial of work by an employer during a labor dispute, was imposed on the referees after they voted overwhelmingly to reject a tentative new union contract with a vote of 95.8%, with 97.8 % of the 260 union members voted.
“This is their feeble attempt to apply economic pressure, and MLS is sacrificing the quality of the game to do so,” Peter Manikowski, president and chief negotiator of PSRA, said in a statement about the lockout that began Feb. 18. “We call it what it is – and this is a violation.”
The union has also alleged unfair labor practices against the MLS and the Professional Referee Organization. The union cited that members rejected the deal in part due to an attempt by the MLS and PRO to add a no strike and no lockout deal for the 2024 season and that wages would have been frozen, protecting job security would have been rolled back and issues such as high unemployment benefits would not be addressed. workload and travel for referees.
Question and answerNew MLS rules for the 2024 season
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A possible work stoppage would also complicate the introduction of new competition rules for the coming season, especially those aimed at preventing time wastage. The MLS has taken a leading role in enforcing the International Football Association Board’s mandate to increase the time the ball is in play beyond 90 minutes. Ifab is the governing body that determines the laws of the game.
After experimenting with new rules in MLS Next Pro, a developmental league, MLS will introduce the strictest time-wasting rules in world soccer for the 2024 season. A new rule designed to reduce the number of players feigning injuries requires a player to leave the field for three minutes for treatment if he remains on the ground for more than 15 seconds. MLS reported that during the 18 months of implementation in MLS Next Pro, there was an 80% reduction in stoppages due to players receiving treatment on the field.
Tough action will also be taken against wasting time during substitutions. In the event of a rule change, a substituted player must leave the field within 10 seconds. If this is not the case, the arriving substitute will be kept off the field for 60 seconds or until the next stoppage in play. There are exceptions for injuries and substitutions of goalkeepers. MLS reported there were only 10 fouls during 3,150 substitutions during the MLS Next Pro trial period.
A potential strike could mean the league is forced to delay implementation of the new rules or work with replacement officials who still have to officiate games with the new restrictions. –Oliver Connolly
According to to the unionThe banned referees are expected to protest outside PRO headquarters in Manhattan on Wednesday. The referee for Inter Miami’s opening match, which starts at 8 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale, is Cristian Campo Hernandez, a former university official who called games in the second-tier USL Championship last year.
“The word I will use to describe it is ’embarrassing’,” said CBS Sports Golazo commentator and former England midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker in a segment on the exclusion. “It doesn’t look that great from outside America.”
The union too doubtful characterizations of the rejected preliminary agreement by the MLS and PRO, claiming that the employer cited percentages and averages as pay increases would be minimal or have no impact on all referees. The union claimed that referees were being compared to cameramen rather than referees in other football competitions around the world. The current agreement reached in 2019 expired on January 15 and was briefly extended as negotiations continued until the union membership’s recent rejection of a tentative agreement.
“Instead of taking care of some very basic needs of officials, MLS and PRO are willing to harm the quality of the game. That should alarm every player, coach and fan, and it is devastating for our referees, who have dedicated their entire lives – mind, body and extensive experience – to this match,” Manikowski added in a rack. “The skyrocketing growth of the MLS has significantly increased the demands on officials, both mentally and physically, and as such the demands on both our professional and personal time. Our members are asking not only for fair compensation at a time when the league is reporting record growth, but also for the ability to support themselves on the road and at home and continue to perform at the highest level this sport demands.” €
The union criticized the lack of pay and benefit improvements for referees, given their increasing workload in recent years, record revenues from team sponsorship last season $587 millionmarket expansions, increases in the number of matches, wage increases for players and the increasing popularity of the sport, especially with the arrival of Lionel Messi to the competition last season and the prospect of the 2026 World Cup being played in the US.
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On social media, the union has highlighted quality of life issues for referees that they say were not addressed during negotiations by the MLS and PRO, including claims that “many MLS referees spend 200 to 240 nights away from home each year,” a 10% increase in the past five years. The Union cited low wages for referees, such as $337 for officiating a preseason game where the league sold 32,000 tickets.
The lockout means referees under the union are barred from officiating matches until the MLS and PRO lift the lockout or an agreement is reached. The replacement referees include officials from international leagues, lower U.S. divisions and retirees, including PRO general manager Mark Geiger. The union has asked referees to show solidarity with the union members and not exceed their exclusion to serve as a substitute.
The MLS last called in replacement referees for two weeks in 2014 before an agreement was reached reaches to end that exclusion with the help of federal mediators. Those two weeks of matches with substitute referees passed largely without any controversy, but the competition has since expanded from 19 to 29 teams and VAR was first introduced to the league for the first time in 2016, and the union has argued that substitutes do not have the experience or training to officiate matches in place of their referees.
“It is extremely disappointing that the officials voted against the tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement reached by the Professional Soccer Referees Association and the Professional Referee Organization,” Major League Soccer executive vice president of sports products and competition Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. “PRO has worked for months and addressed all issues raised by the PSRA bargaining unit. It is also unfortunate that the PSRA rejected PRO’s offer of a mutual no-strike-no-lockout commitment, which would have allowed all match officials to continue working during the ongoing negotiations. PRO has updated us on its contingency plan for the upcoming MLS season, including the deployment of experienced professional match referees, supported by experienced VAR officials. We are confident in the comprehensive plan they have put in place.”
The MLS Players Association issued a statement on February 20 expressing his disappointment at the exclusion.
“The use of substitute referees will not only negatively impact the quality and results of our matches, it could also compromise the health and safety of players,” the statement said. “We urge PRO and MLS to return to the table and negotiate in good faith with PSRA to work toward a timely and fair agreement.”