Sometimes, one referee decision can influence and overshadow the entire match and stir a lot of controversy. The first-leg of the Eastern Conference Championship match between DC United and Houston Dynamo gave rise to such controversy. In the 48th minute of the game - at the time when DC United was leading Houston Dynamo 1:0 - DC United midfielder Raphael Augusto and Houston Dynamo defender Andre Hainault were locked in a fierce foot-race and battle for the ball. Sprinting towards the Dynamo’s goal, both players tried to outmuscle each other. As United’s Augusto appeared to get upper hand over his Dynamo opponent, in a desperate attempt to prevent Augusto from a one-on-one encounter with his goalkeeper, Dynamo’s Hainault hooked his arm around Augusto’s arm and dragged him down to the ground stopping the dangerous attack. As the video below shows, all of this took place merely two or three yards away from the penalty area with no one other than the goalkeeper in front of the two players. Referee Ricardo Salazar, however, who was directly behind and also a few yards away from the encounter, did not spot any infringement and let the play continue.
The New York Red Bulls recorded their first comeback from a two-goal deficit this season when, after an exciting game, they beat the Portland Timbers 3:2 at Red Bull Arena on August 19, 2012. This was also the game in which Tim Cahill, Red Bulls recent signing from Everton, scored his first goal in MLS. Cahill’s goal, however, was controversial because it looked like it was scored after Referee Jasen Anno blew his whistle, indicating a foul inside Portland’s penalty area. As the video below demonstrates, it appears that Referee blew his whistle immediately after the ball bounced off the Portland Timber’s defender. Mr. Anno’s whistle was not only immediate (premature?!) but also very loud as it can be clearly heard on the video.
On July 18, 2012, Toronto FC continued its recent good form (after a truly horrible start to the season) and defeated Colorado Rapids 2:1 before home crowd at the BMO Field. This was an important game to both teams which were seemingly heading in the opposite direction. Toronto FC was playing for its third win in a row. Colorado, on the other hand, was trying to avoid its fourth loss in a row. Ultimately, Toronto FC prevailed and continued its remarkable recent resurgence while Colorado’s search for a better form goes on.
On June 30, 2012, in an entertaining game before the sellout crowd of 50,000 that saw a total of seven goals scored, San Jose Earthquakes defeated LA Galaxy 4:3. The spectators witnessed a flurry of goals and their home team clawing back from a 1:3 deficit to win the game 4:3. There was another goal -- a game wining goal -- by a league leading scorer Chris Wondolowski in the 61st minute of the game and also a spectacular goal by David Beckham in the 31st minute of the game. But Beckham was also involved in another - much less glamorous - incident in the 93rd minute of the game which almost caused a melee between the two teams.
In the 62nd minute of a recent FC Dallas vs. Chicago Fire game, MLS referee Mr. Hilario Grajeda awarded a penalty kick to Chicago Fire. Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman saved Sebastian Grazzini’s shot, but another Chicago Fire striker, Marco Pappa, pounced on the rebound and knocked the ball into the net. Pappa, however, entered the penalty area well before his teammate Grazzini struck the ball (see the picture to the left and the video below). In other words, Pappa entered the penalty area illegally and the referee should have disallowed the goal. In addition, the footage from the game showed that another player from FC Dallas also illegally entered the penalty before the kick was taken. Therefore, the referee should have disallowed the goal and should have ordered the penalty kick to be retaken.
We hate diving! Unfortunately, diving or “simulation” has long been the scourge of world soccer and FIFA has made repeated attempts, with varying degrees of success, to eradicate it from its competitions. MLS has also stated that it would not tolerate diving. In fact, back in 2011, following a suspension of a former D.C. United forward Charlie Davies for diving during a game between DC United and Real Salt Lake, MLS stated that “all instances of behavior that serve to deceive and that directly impact the game will be subject to severe discipline, including a fine, suspension or both.”
In this blog, we are writing about remarks that were included in the Advice to Referees on the Laws of the Game issued by the United States Soccer Federation (the “USSF”) in 2011. Specifically, we express our disappointment and dismay over the advice offered by the USSF, which appears to direct referees to disregard specific provisions of the Laws of the Game, dealing with the substitution and changing of goalkeepers. Indeed, we direct your attention to the following paragraph in section 8.3 titled “THE START OF PLAY” and, in particular, to the sentence that we underlined below:
On March 6, 2012, the U.S. Soccer Federation and Major League Soccer announced that they formed the Professional Referee Organization (PRO). The statement on the Federation's website stated that:
"[PRO] will be responsible for managing the referee program in professional soccer leagues in the United States and Canada.
The creation of PRO is designed to increase the quality of officiating in U.S. and Canadian professional leagues, develop more professional quality officials at a younger age and develop officials who will represent the United States and Canada in FIFA competitions.
This past Saturday, AC Milan and Juventus played a pivotal game that could determine the championship of the Italian Serie A this season. AC Milan struck the first blow in the 14th minute of the game when Antonio Nocerino's shot fortuitously ricocheted off a Juventus' defender. The ricocheted ball completely fooled Buffon who hopelessly watched it go into the goal and AC Milan was up 1-0. In the 26th minute of the game, AC Milan should have been up by two goals after Sulley Muntari's header but the Referees - and more critically, the Assistant Referee - failed to notice that the ball crossed over the goal-line. The replays, and the pictures, clearly showed that, despite Buffon's valiant effort to stop the ball from going over the goal-line, the ball was already inside his goal when he parried it away.
Referee decisions involving the offense known as "handling the ball" almost always stir controversy. Those that result in penalty kicks are guaranteed to be hotly debated. In two recent games, Liverpool v. Manchester City and Everton v. Fullham, both Phil Dowd and Howard Webb awarded penalty kicks for handling offenses committed by Manchester City and Everton players, respectively. Did they get it right? After all, just because the contact is made between the ball and the player's hand or arm does not automatically mean that the handling occurred. Rather, the Laws of the Game state that the handling offense is committed only if a player "handles the ball deliberately." So let's take a deeper and more exacting look into what referees must consider when making decisions whether the offense occurred.
We have no idea how Mancini could think that the appeal would be successful. After all, the FA requires that to be successful on a claim of Wrongful Dismissal, the Club must show that the referee "has made a serious and obvious error." Here, as we explain in more details below, the case for Wrongful Dismissal was not even close. The dismissal was required.
Indeed, Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct, expressly states that a player must be sent off if his offense rises to "serious foul play." According to the Interpretation of the Laws of the Game and Guidelines for Referees issued by IFAB, a player is guilty of serious foul play if "he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponentâ€." Thus, "any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play." According to FIFA's guidance, "using excessive force means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring an opponent." FIFA rules require that a player who uses excessive force be sent off or shown red card.
Sometimes, one referee decision can influence and overshadow the entire match and stir a lot of controversy. The first-leg of the Eastern Conference Championship match between DC United and Houston Dynamo gave rise to such controversy. In the 48th minute of the game - at the time when DC United was leading Houston Dynamo 1:0 - DC United midfielder Raphael Augusto and Houston Dynamo defender Andre Hainault were locked in a fierce foot-race and battle for the ball. Sprinting towards the Dynamo’s goal, both players tried to outmuscle each other. As United’s Augusto appeared to get upper hand over his Dynamo opponent, in a desperate attempt to prevent Augusto from a one-on-one encounter with his goalkeeper, Dynamo’s Hainault hooked his arm around Augusto’s arm and dragged him down to the ground stopping the dangerous attack. As the video below shows, all of this took place merely two or three yards away from the penalty area with no one other than the goalkeeper in front of the two players. Referee Ricardo Salazar, however, who was directly behind and also a few yards away from the encounter, did not spot any infringement and let the play continue.
The New York Red Bulls recorded their first comeback from a two-goal deficit this season when, after an exciting game, they beat the Portland Timbers 3:2 at Red Bull Arena on August 19, 2012. This was also the game in which Tim Cahill, Red Bulls recent signing from Everton, scored his first goal in MLS. Cahill’s goal, however, was controversial because it looked like it was scored 
