Taking a breath away from corruption week ...

Some pretty cool stuff going on in NY/NJ today.

FIFA inspection team hit the ground. Some highlights can be found at:

www.gousabid.com and Some nice comments from Studio 90.

It just keeps getting better.

Kicking Back comments:

As many of us are aware, information is power, and selling information can be quite a money maker. While I am fairly certain that this act is from a rogue individual or small group of them, what came out for me was how deep the ties are within FIFA's political community. I suppose this should not surprise me at all at the end of the day, it is big business after all.

To me the most telling part of the article is here:

Match Hospitality, owned in part by a media company run by Philippe Blatter, nephew of the Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, won exclusive rights to sell ticket hospitality packages at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments three years ago. The firm was criticised for over-pricing packages for this summer's World Cup, resulting in empty seats at most matches in South Africa.

Fifa in spotlight over passport identity theft claims

• Newspaper claims fans' details were sold on to touts
• Investigation into 'rogue employee' of Match Hospitality

An investigation is under way into allegations that the passport details of thousands of football fans were sold on the black market by an official linked to Fifa.

The Information Commissioner's Office, which regulates the Data Protection Act, confirmed it has launched an inquiry into claims that the details of 35,689 English fans who attended the World Cup in Germany in 2006 may have been sold unlawfully for profit. Preliminary investigations by the authority suggest that the details of 7,200 England fans have been traded illegally. ...

Full article continues here, courtesy of guardian.co.uk.

MLS *REALLY* losing control now!

Kicking Back Comments:
Following is an excellent editorial piece from MLS Rumors as a follow up to their post the other day regarding the Goal Of The Weak Week (GOTW) fixing incident. It's funny too as what I have queued up for today was discussion about a FIFA corruption incident ... in fact there are a pair. One older news, one new.


I guess it is turning into corruption week here at Kicking Back, and happily, none have to do with referees. While sad in a way that there is corruption in THE Game, it makes me slightly happier that it is coming from a source that is not a referee. We get blamed enough for everything else after all =)


As the article indicated, Commissioner Garber is on Extra-Time this Tuesday, and we will see what he has to say, if anything, about the MLS response to the incident.


EDITORIAL: Why Would AT&T Want to Be Associated With Flawed System? MLS Censorship, Secrecy and Soccer in The USA

Stories disappearing, comments removed at will. It seems all in a days work at MLSSoccer. It is indicative of  a league hasn’t learned how to properly deal both “Web 2.0″ and social media and a league which has never learned how to properly deal with bad P.R.

We saw it for the very plainly last week when Columbus Crew fans upset with comments from MLSSoccer.com writer Simon Borg last week commented on the power rankings he posted and had their Facebook comments removed. Matchfit USA ran a good story on that incident but in a nutshell: ...

Full editorial continues here, courtesy of MLS Rumors.

MLS losing control?

If you are asking about their web site, the answer to some is a resounding YES!

Kudos to MLS Rumors who broke this story about how the MLS Goal Of The Week (GOTW) has been tampered with by some (very) knowledgeable fans, and assisted by a seemingly very poor quality web site from MLS.

Also, if you read the comments posted, this apparently is not new to most avid MLS'ers. Go figure. One particularly humerous comment stated:

wait. are you telling me that something about the wonderful league website mlssoccer.com is screwed up, amateurish, or down right stupid? i am shocked. shocked i say. and in other news: water is wet, the sun is very hot and the sky is up.

Ouch.

Now I am not going to go all grassy knoll, but it is worth asking the question if MLS has known about this ... or is participating condoning the acts? Just a question, and not a statement or accusation. (MLS legal please take note.)

For now apparently the page for this weeks GOTW is down and MLS may be rethinking its technology choices to avoid such obvious tampering in the future.

I highly recommend reading the full article here, courtesy of MLS Rumors.

Sad to see him go ...

Photo courtesy sporting-heroes.net

Brian McBride (background) has set his retirement at the end of the 2010 season.

I personally have had a number of interactions with Mr. McBride and they have always been tremendous. He is a first class person, who is also exceptionally talented.

While there is not enough ink in my proverbial pen to write about his accomplishments, a very nice synopsis can be found here, on the Chicago Fire web site.

He is in my opinion one of the modern greats. More professional athletes should comport themselves the way Mr. McBride has done throughout his career.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Technical Report ... Meh ...

Judge for yourself.

KB's opinion ... for all the "issues" with referees, there was no significant mention of the referees, their "issues", or proposed solutions.

The complete report is here (.pdf), courtesy of FIFA.

Once More unto the Breach, Dear Friends, Once More

Brilliant prose from one who recognizes where we are in our development as officials, and a stark reminder where we still need to go ...

See the article and video of the brutal event here, courtesy of For the Integrity of Soccer.

"I had a poor view of that particular incident." - Howard Webb

I should have shown Nigel de Jong a red card, says Howard Webb

Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA

When Howard Webb took the field for the World Cup final at Soccer City last month, he was cheered by the sight of a small banner amid all the orange and red, the flags and the vuvuzelas, a message of support from home, no less. "It must have been English," he recalled. "It simply said: Can't play, can ref."

That statement was to be tested in Johannesburg in a way that nobody could ever have imagined, with Webb issuing 14 yellow cards. "On the day of the final we had several briefings from Fifa technical and psychological staff, and I don't think anyone foresaw the game being the physical encounter it turned out to be. We talked about the emotion, the styles of play, but no one said anything about it being so physical. ...

Masterful article continues here, courtesy of guardian.co.uk.

US Soccer + Glenn Beck == ??

So as I have said before, I am a bit of a political junkie. To prove this I was cruising the information superhighway the other day and ran across this story about the Glenn Beck rally on Saturday the 28th.

I found the above picture from the article interesting. Look close at the logo on the T-Shirt.

Yep ... its the US Soccer logo.

Please note this is not an invitation for a political debate of any type and I'm not espousing some conspirator theory that US Soccer is funding Glenn Beck or anything of the sort.

I just saw the logo and took note. After all, sometimes a T-shirt, is just a T-shirt.

Four More Years For Bob??

Check out Grant Wahl's thoughts here on the topic, FIFA's here, and US Soccer's spin here.

Lets see what happens next ... I don't think we're quite done yet.

We're not going to take it ... (Sung to Twisted Sister)

First of all, go here to listen to the song if you are so inclined.

Does anyone remember the name Jim Leyland? Well he is the manager that showed the grace to publicly forgive Jim Joyce for the call he blew back in June taking a perfect game away from Galarraga. See here for a recap.

Well, Jim's "pissed" (his words), and I honestly don't blame him. He was accused of spitting on an umpire, what sound like what actually happened, was some sunflower seeds accidental shot out of his mouth when he was arguing a call at second base. Gross, but innocent in nature.

While he was ejected from the game, and Leyland himself is fine with that, to be accused of spitting on an umpire is serious stuff, and he is not going to stand for it.

As he stated to the Detroit Free Press:

"I'm tired of protecting umpires. I'm tired of not being able to say anything. I'm defending myself. If you want to kick me out, that's fine. I don't care about that because it sprayed on his shirt, but when you start to accuse somebody of doing something you better be careful."

... and he's right. As referees we not only have to report the correct misconduct - but have to get the underlying misconduct correct. Men of good conscious can disagree if it was or was not a handball or yellow card (for example), but to accuse someone of doing something serious, you must be sure. A referee loses all credibility and integrity instantly otherwise.

Full story here, courtesy of USA Today.

Developemnt Night at the Revolution - Total Success!

The MSRC hit the ball out of the park on the 28th at the Development Night at the Revolution!

In a tremendously creative approach, the SDI (Nigel Bright - a contributor here on Kicking Back) designed a recertification program to include not only observing and reporting on video clips, as is very often done, but extended this to the same on an actual professional match.

Classroom work was very well done with interactive portions along with the video clips. Also there was a surprise visit from the match officials who were gracious enough to take questions and hung around for about 15 minutes. The venue was tremendous. It was a first class event in a private section of the Fidelity Clubhouse at Gillette with a packed house of more than 200 people in attendance.

From there each referee had the assignment to observe the match, and report back via an online form, the incidents they observed and why they believe the referee took that action. These results will be gathered and compared to the comments of the assessors in attendance and published to that community to see how similar the observations were.

While unfortunately not a great night for the Revolution, it was for the 200+ referees in attendance.

I have been sworn to secrecy regarding my observations about the match, but it suffices to say I respectfully disagree with Mr. Nicol's opinion about the referee performance as he alluded to in the article today from Frank Dell'Apa.

90 Foot Launch

Kicking Back Comments:

This is an interesting incident from the perspective that we have to remember as referees that players have relationships too. Very often we are asked to step in when that relationship is not going so well, but there is one there none the less. Over time it is important to form relationships with these players too. For those who see teams on a regular basis (in town leagues for example) there is nothing wrong with taking to understand the dynamics of the relationships between players, coaches, administrators, other referees, et al. These relationships are what will make or break you the further you go.

Early in my career I was instructed to call people "sir" or "ma'am" (except Barbara Boxer, who I would call "Senator"), and this seemed to work for a while for no other reason that it was polite. As I progressed and saw teams more and more regularly I found it more helpful to use a persons name in a respectful way (e.g. Mr. Bright, Ms. Murphy) as it started to form a connection between us. Later still, I took the time to know these folks and could strike up a conversation whenever we saw each other. I recall seeing Steve Nichol so frequently as manager of the local "A League" team that he would comment on my haircut when he did not like it. It was truly comical. But more importantly he felt comfortable to let me know when something was at issue. From there I would filter the comment and ask "what is he getting at?" It was usually something pretty vital to the match at hand.

It is critical for a referee to be aware of what is going on and the interactions between people to get the full picture. I recognize this umpire was a "vacation substitute" and may not have that time to be able to understand the dynamic. In which case, he should have just let it go.

I'm not advocating being willfully blind to an issue, what I am saying is take the time to understand it, and then, and only then, take the appropriate action.

Beltre taken by surprise
He says umpire was way off base

Adrian Beltre was called out on strikes in the second inning last night on a pitch he thought was low. He told umpire Dan Bellino his opinion and returned to the dugout.

“I didn’t curse or anything,’’ Beltre said. “I said I thought it was low. He said it was a good pitch and I walked away.’’

Once the inning was over, Beltre trotted out to third base and playfully boasted to Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez that he would get him the next time. ...

Full article here courtesy of the Boston Globe.

Ready ... Steady ...

An old axiom often cited is that "Piss Poor Preparation Produces Piss Poor Performance". So in my preparing for the development night at the Revolution, (to avoid poor performance) following is a general template about how I would prepare for matches.

Please note, do what works for you. Some people would do more, some people would do less, and get the same result. Take this with a grain of salt and make it your own. Your mileage may vary.

Now the focus on this particular discussion is at the professional level, but many of the general points apply in local matches as well. Keep in mind too that some of these resources will not be available for the matches you are doing. Again, make this form work for you.

I generally begin by taking a self inventory and making sure that I am prepared for the match. I would wind down my training for the week and make sure to get some rest around match day minus 3. Lots of fluids, lots of rest. I would push this back if I had to travel to the match as travel itself can be tiring.

Have you made contact with your team? Have a ride? Need a ride? Local hotel? Flying in? Where are the teams staying?

I generally would look at the history of each team separately. Simple things like win/loss any roster changes of late, general news about the team, place in the standings, etc.. All to get a general idea what is going on and if there is anything at issue that this particular match turns on. An example would be playoff implications, a new (and famous) player joining the team, etc..

From there I generally look into the injuries on the team. Who is hurt, how they got hurt, and their status. A player nursing an injury can be a difficult management situation and to know this up front will help.

Still looking at the individual teams, I would then look at statistics. Some referees that I know don't like to do this as there is a concern that it taints the opinion. I respectfully disagree, but also am careful to not let the bias creep in. For example, lets take the Revolution (stats here). What is this page telling me?

• Schilawski and Perovic are the goal scorers and Dube is right there in assists. These are players that might be marked hard and should be protected.
• Niouky stands out as committing the most fouls, yet does not produce (no goals, 1 assists, and a handful of fouls suffered).
• Cautions ... Niouky tops the list.
• Send offs ... there were 3 ... and Niouky has one. (Ed note ... he is a midfielder too, not a pure defender).

So from this I am starting to paint a picture of who may be at issue, and what is at stake in the match. Who are the coaches? Trainers? Know their names? Are they a problem? How would you deal with it even before stepping into the field?

From there I move on to the opposing team, and take great note of who is playing where and what the venue is.

How big is the field? Altitude? Local traditions? (Have you ever heard the cannons fire in Raymond James stadium in Florida after a goal? - Scared the crap out of me the first time ... and every time after that). Weather? Field Surface!! (I got bit by that one in NY once ... cost me $100 for a new pair of Copa's 3 hours before the match) By the way, traveling teams expect a "better" that fair shake.

Same approach for the opposing team. General to the specific.

Now, I move to head to head. Have these teams played before? What was the result? Were there problems in the match? Is payback coming?

I may actually try to get my hands on the match if possible and review it once to get a flavor. Also I would check the Week In Review for that week and see what happened.

How about calling that referee? Why not!

I believe there are two main points to consider when doing such research:

1. Get all the information you can about the teams themselves, head to head, and the venue. Synthesize the match from this. Who are the goal scorers, bullies, what's at stake?
2. Don't be a slave to the information! You are just looking at a two dimensional picture. Adapt the knowledge to the reality of the match, which is played in 4 dimensions.

With all this info, and thinking about how to apply it, you will be ready for many things that get thrown at you, and can say you are well prepared for a match ... assuming the knowledge of the game and fitness pieces are there too, as without those pieces peril awaits at that level.

More Upgrade Kudos

Here is another pair of referees that that performed exceptionally and have received upgrades for their efforts.
I want to take just a second a recognize these individuals that have distinguished themselves in this regard.

Keep it up guys!

James Moriarty & Frank Bagnardi

A time to celebrate

August has been a bit of a whirlwind for me personally for a variety of reasons. None the least of which is the work many have done surrounding my father's name that has occurred. Here is a very brief synopsis.

Stephen A. Kokolski Assessor of the Year.
This was a truly humbling experience. When first told about this honor of the renaming the MSRC Assessor of the Year Award to the Stephen A. Kokolski Assessor of the Year Award, I was shocked speechless (a rare occurrence unto itself). Even more humbling was the privilege to say a few words and present the award in the honor of the individual who received it. Mr. Pete Robinson truly embodies the values of this award for everything he does both for the program, and the referees and assessors it services. An honor well earned, and one I truly enjoyed delivering.

Photo courtesy MSRC

Stephen A. Kokolski Scholarship Awards.

August was also the month that the recipients of the 2010 Stephen A. Kokolski scholarships were awarded. A hearty congratulations to Mr. Christopher Fitzgibbon and Mr. Peter Reis, each a 2010 SAK scholarship award recipient.

Mr. Fitzgibbon came to us with not only solid refereeing credentials as he begins his career, but also a clear affinity for the sciences. Well rounded is probably the best way to describe Chris, as he seems to be equally comfortable in his role at MIT, as well as his ever expanding exposure to the finer details of music.

Mr. Reis also comes with some serious credentials as well. An honors student of chemical engineering at Northeastern University, in his off time is working at P&G and a recognized ability in the refereeing world as he attended at Region I President's Cup, and was an alternate for the National President's Cup in Nashville, TN.

Congratulations to both Chris and Peter!

We are in the process now of creating a web site for this ongoing foundation. It can be viewed here. Work is progressing and changes are coming.

A busy month so far indeed ... and one that will be topped off on the 28th by working with the instructional staff at the Development Night at the Revolution, where your humble author has been transformed from reporter, to quasi-instructor. Don't miss it ... it promises to be outstanding.

Open and Shut Case

Kicking Back Comments:
While at times I get the sense that FIFA wants to be a bona fide governing body (i.e. a recognized government), and takes steps in that direction with some of their tremendous charity work and influence they exert on nations. However, it is vapid responses like this which demonstrate a willingness not to engage in what may be a far more serious issue which (for me) very clearly militate away from any such assertion of true governance.


FIFA Statement on Korea DPR
Following a request for information sent by FIFA to the Korea DPR Football Association on 11 August, FIFA can now confirm that it has received a letter from the Korea DPR Football Association as a reply to that request for information. ...

See the full statement here on the casual inquiry investigation, courtesy of FIFA.

Week In Review - Week 20: A MUST READ

Kicking Back Comments:

For those who are not familiar with the "Week In Review" from US Soccer you should make it a regular read on a weekly basis. This week was particularly insightful as it talks about the "puzzle" that needs to be put together regarding Persistent Infringement (PI). Take the ten minutes and read it ... an excellent read.

Week In Review 2010 
Week 20 – Ending August 15, 2010 The ability of a referee to feel the game and piece together the various scenarios in a game (much like building a puzzle) has been reviewed in multiple “Week In Reviews” during the past two and a half seasons. This feel and the ability to piece together the big picture is one of the vital aspects of being a top-class referee. This version of the “Week In Review” will examine four clips requiring both feel and an understanding of the big picture to successfully navigate each scenario and make the optimum decision (guided by the Laws of the Game).


Full post here, courtesy of US Soccer.

New Poll ... Offside or Not?

As many of you have seen, there is a question if the video clip posted here is offside or not.

There is now a poll dedicated to the question. So the question is ..

Offside or not?

Offside or Not Offside ???

Simple enough - watch the 1 minute clip and decide.

http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/sport/fussball/Wenn-der-Schiedsrichter-die-OffsideRegel-nicht-kennt/story/12711270