Adding Another Referee To The Long List Of MLS "Game Changers"
by Scott Kessler on May 1, 2011 8:54 PM EDT
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Mark Geiger managed 80 games, handing out 13 red cards and 26 penalty kicks prior to yesterday's Philadelphia Union and San Jose Earthquakes game. By the time he whistled for the end of the match, one of each was added to his career tallies.
In a league where referees have been the focal point of criticism since its inception, and the majority of this season, it seems almost idiotic that the level of officiating is left to rot at such a low standard. The problem starts at the top of the United States soccer pyramid, with the United States Soccer Federation.
The USSF is the entity that controls the majority of the referee functions in American soccer and it is the problem. MLS suffers because of it.
Which brings this discussion to Geiger.
No matter how a person looks at the game that was played last night at PPL Park, the refereeing was downright awful. Call Jordan Harvey's red card deserved or ridiculous, call the penalty kick call not a hand ball or completely correct, Geiger lost complete control of the match multiple times.
That lack of controlled changed the flow of the game. Yet the most telling portion of his poor approach to reffing was not in his red card decision or pointing to the spot. It was a completely different incident.
Faryd Mondragon's showdown with Brandon McDonald, of the Earthquakes, was a microcosm of the night for Geiger. Instead of diffusing the situation at the beginning, by warning both parties and telling everyone to continue play, he instead let Mondragon and McDonald get into a shouting match that resulted in both teams coming together en masse. The end result was two yellows (one for each player) for Unsporting Behavior. McDonald should have in the very least received a yellow for Delay of Game, along the lines of what Bobby Convey was cautioned for in the 60th minute.
In the end, the game speaks to the overall problems that reffing in MLS has had this season. It's also not the first time that a group of Philadelphia fans has been frustrated with someone in sports with the last name of Geiger.
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Union - San Jose
I wasn’t at the game but the replay as best I could see looked like a red card to me. It resembled the Zinedine Zidane red card in the 1998 World Cup against Saudi Arabia where he stepped on the opponent while running by him. It is used in referee training as a good example of violent conduct – especially courageous given he was sending off a key French player in a WC game being played in France.
The hand ball was a little hard to tell but all referees are now instructed to award a foul when defenders throw up their arms to block shots. The defender hands may be stationary when the ball hits it, but if his arms are in an unnatural position, the referee is suppose to give the foul. These are USSF dictates which I am sure MLS follows as well.
Given the high number of serious injuries so far, maybe it’s good we have some refs who aren’t afraid to hand out red cards when they see violent conduct.
Here's a distinct difference between Harvey's foul and Zidane:
There was zero intent.
He wasn’t looking at the opposing player and was actively trying to free himself of the tackle. It was incidental contact at most. He doesn’t clearly put his cleat upon the chest of his opponent and certainly doesn’t know its placement in relation to the opposing player. That isn’t a red card.
As for the hand ball, I’m going to have a separate post for it.
Managing Editor for Brotherly Game, SBNation's Philadelphia Union blog and contributor for SBN Philly. // @scottdkessler
"College is only 4 years, but the Eagles are for life." - Ironhank
by Scott Kessler on May 1, 2011 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I was sitting in section 110...
Maybe 25 ft. from Harvey’s incident and I can tell you that my entire section initially thought the red card was going to The San Jose player for intentionally kicking at Harvey while Harvey was trying to walk away. At no point did Harvey look at him on the ground, or aim his foot at him ( I didn’t even see his foot make any contact whatsoever with the San Jose player’s chest, though he did step OVER him). It looked from my angle that Harvey half-tripped over him and was attempting to turn around to chase the play when the guy kicked at him from the ground and created the tussle. If Harvey had a rep for cheap shots that’d be one thing, but I think the ref saw “something” out of the corner of his eye and made an assumption more than anything else. Either a red to both or a yellow to both should have been the only logical conclusion, though reds to both would have seemed harsh to me. If the ref really saw Harvey step on him, then he should have also seen the San Jose player blatantly attempt to kick Harvey from behind. Thats why I’m calling BS on the single red only
by Domin8ing the Big Ten(11) on May 2, 2011 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions
Harvey's red card
All I saw was the replay of Harvey’s red card, but it looked like a correct call to me. He knew perfectly well that he had a player tangled up at his feet, and rather than take 5 seconds and carefully detangle, he put the bottom of his foot on the defender as if he was dirt and pushed off to run after the ball. The disregard for another human being was pretty blatant. I get that he wasn’t looking at the player when he did it, but he knew full well that the player was down there and wasn’t being careful at all. In fact he was almost deliberately not being careful it seems.
Adding to all this is that as soon as the whistle was blown, Harvey’s reaction tells all. He knew exactly why play was being stopped and put up a faux argument that he hadn’t done anything. If it really had been accidental, he wouldn’t have reacted that way. It would have been more of surprise or shock than trying to defend himself.
As for SJ’s handball, I’d say that Philly may have gotten a break on that one. It’s hard to tell in the reply, but it looks like the ball actually bounces off of his face rather than his extended arm. That ended up being the difference in the game.
For context, this comment is coming from a neutral 3rd party MLS fan who doesn’t support either side. Take it for what it’s worth.
grant equality at least
Can’t say I agree that Harvey deserved a red card. I see your point on potential intent even though Harvey didn’t look down, but It wasn’t Harvey’s fault that Letich’s 2-footed slide tackle on Harvey left his torso wrapped tightly around Harvey’s ankles (and I still don’t think there was intent anyway). I think it would have taken 4-5 seconds to free himself carefully enough not to touch Leitch, by which time the free ball would have been gone.
Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll grant me that there is no excuse for Geiger to not have awarded Leitch with a red card as well for violently (and clearly with intent) trying to kick in Harvey’s knee. Especially given the escalation the game had already seen.
Red card
I have to disagree…being at the game right in front of the play. He stepped over the player, not on the player. It was absolutely not a red card; possibly both should have received a yellow card.
Now, with that said…the call was right…lol I know everyone and my brethren (SoBs) will be disappointed, but the ref needs to call what he sees. He saw our playing “stepping on another player without trying to gain freedom from the entangled legs.” That’s the right call…despite its not what happened…its the refs job to protect the players from flagrant fouls…he did his job. Yes, I know..he didn’t do it at all the rest of the game…but he got one call right. Sorry.
Why do we act like only the MLS has ref problems?
The Champions League game also featured a weak red. Didier Drogba’s “****ing disgrace” rant is CL lore. There’s at least one EPL game each week (usually more) that features both coaches complaining about the officials. I know the MLS refs have been bad, but I think soccer reffing in the world in general is just poor.
It makes you wonder if the game would benefit by having more refs per game with more specialized roles. With 22 players running around in all different directions and a large playing field, there’s a lot of action for a relatively few refs to be watching and it’s easy to miss things or to catch things out of the corner of one’s eye and miss nuances.
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