The untimely passing of Rogerio Barbara

Soccer Friends,

We have just learned of the passing of one of our colleagues, Rogerio Barbara, after a brief struggle with throat cancer.  Rogerio was 59.  

Rogerio had been a referee since 1984 and hung up his cleats in 2010 after 25 years.  He was a State Assessor and had been assessing for over twenty years.

Funeral services will be on Wednesday morning in Taunton, MA.  Details can be found here:  http://www.currentobituary.com/Memory.aspx?Memory_ObitdID=127302

I personally have had the opportunity to work with Rogerio as a referee, assessor, and peer and found him to be a gentle soul always with a kind word ready.

I will miss him, as will The Game.

Veterans Cup - here we come

I head for Veterans Cup tomorrow and will endeavor to keep up Pete's standard of reporting. I attended the Referee meeting on Tuesday and my take away from the meeting was "this may not be the World Cup but a lot of people have spent a lot of money to attend. Approach these games with respect and professionalism"