US Youth Soccer Regional Tournament Reporting!

Hi all!  My name is Marc and you can find me taking over the Kicking Back blog over the next couple of days whilst I blog about the shenanigans experiences of the Massachusetts Referee Delegation at the US Youth Soccer Region 1 President's Cup.  Perhaps you'll learn something or be mildly amused by reading this (hopefully both!).

For those of you who don’t know, the President's Cup was created by US Youth Soccer as a “mid-level competition for those looking to play against teams of similar abilities for a National Championship Title" Don’t be fooled by ‘mid-level’ though, it’s a big deal!  At least so I’m told...  We'll find out!

Full disclosure, this will be my first regional event, so I’m definitely new at this, I intend to share my experiences and observations, however entertaining/dull/boring/fascinating they may be. :-)

The crew this morning met at Boston Logan bright and early.  I’m not certain whose idea it was to take the 6:30 AM flight, but nevertheless we all made it on time and had no hiccups through security or at check in.  Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, we stopped by Pittsburgh's famous "Luca's Diner" for a hearty breakfast.  After all, you cannot referee on an empty stomach!

After a short drive north, we ended up at Slippery Rock, PA and checked into our dorm rooms at the aptly named Slippy Rock University.  While we are relaxing now prior to dinner and our evening meetings, you can definitely feel a positive buzz of excitement amongst the delegation.  All 10 referees (and our Head of Delegation and Assessor) are ready to hit the ground running tomorrow.  Hopefully we'll have many great stories to report!

I intend to keep you updated on what is going throughout the weekend, but in addition to that some of the referees and myself will be tweeting and instagramming about the event using the hashtags #MassTourneyRefs and #MassRegionalRefs.  Also make sure to follow @MA_Referees over on Twitter throughout the tournament season! 

No LD?!?!?! Big Mistake

U.S. announces final World Cup roster; Donovan excluded

The player widely regarded as the greatest in American soccer history will be watching the World Cup from home. Landon Donovan was among the seven players cut from the United States' 23-player World Cup roster on Thursday. It was expected to be his fourth and final World Cup.

Though Jurgen Klinsmann had been clear about his expectations for Donovan, few expected Donovan to be left off the roster entirely. As a result, expect the team's success or failure to be judged through the prism of Klinsmann's decision. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of USA Today.

Kicking Back Comments: I think this is Jurgen's first huge mistake as the US Coach. Let's face it kids, the US is out after the 1st round short of a miracle. (You can see the group here) I suppose you could also have something like what Jens Voigt described in cycling parlance below:

So with this in mind, and in Jurgen's own words there is only a "little" difference between LD and the rest of the team he was competing with ... give LD the nod. He has done more for the US Game than many others at that level ... tip the cap, give him the honor. He has earned it.

Our team is going nowhere this year in Brazil, and while Jurgen may be thinking about experience for these guys for 2018, I think a single spot can be for one who has done what LD has done ... and also has performed at or near the same level as others. If that is Jurgen's actual thinking I find it a bit too rigid and frankly a mistake.

If his reasoning is other, like LD's walkabout recently, or that Jurgen just does not like him, then own the decision to exclude him on that basis. Please don't pretend to exclude a pre-legend like LD on the basis he is ... not ... quite ... there.

Don't believe me? How about this from Jerry Hinnen on CBS Sports which says:

"The bottom line is that the friction between Klinsmann and Donovan was an open secret -- has been an open secret for a while -- and it's not easy to find reasons other than that friction for the selection of Davis, in particular, at Donovan's expense. The belief here is that Donovan isn't being left at home because he's out of form; being out of form merely gave Klinsmann enough of an excuse to that he could leave Donovan at home. Ultimately, it's not a soccer decision, though even Klinsmann may be telling himself it is."

Big mistake Jurgen. Put your bias away and do the right thing for the US Game ... and LD who helped form it in this generation.

A Tale of Two Matches

I went to the local park this past Sunday to take in some soccer. After the cold, snow and rain of the previous six months, it was great to finally get to watch a game without having to wear an overcoat. Beautiful skies with scattered puffy clouds and the temperature dancing around 68 degrees with a whisper of a breeze to give life to the budding trees in the background. Short sleeves all around.

The game in progress upon arrival was an adult women's game. This was obviously a lower division of play, and had a recreational atmosphere to it. Uniform requirements were a little lax, with many players wearing T-shirts of a proximate color, and in some cases simple scrimmage vests instead of jerseys. Players joked a bit with opponents about missing open chances and apologized for accidental collisions, occasionally joking with the referee as well. There were a few husbands sunning themselves on a blanket or reading a paperback book in a lawn chair. I never could figure out who was rooting for which team. We applauded good play regardless.

My neighboring spectator soon struck up a conversation with me. He was originally from Mubai and now lives near the field, On this day he was out for a walk and decided to stop to watch the game. He said he used to play when he was younger, and explained that soccer is big in his country. After a bit he continued on his way.

I reflected about how perfect this day was. Perfect weather, perfect game, perfect atmosphere. There was no place on this earth I would have rather been at that moment.

Later that by same day, I stopped at another field and watched a children's game. The level of play was 5-6 years old, and this was their introductory season of organized soccer. There were about six players on the field for each team, although at times it was hard to count since they all clustered together. Each team did look sharp in matching uniforms right down to the socks. They were assisted in their learning by several adult "coaches" that joined them on the field, and helped steer the herd toward some mysterious goal. 

In this game, the atmosphere was completely different. There was a cacophony of shouts from the on-field coaches as well as the assembled parents. "Go Johnny, kick it up the field!" "Now run and get it Sarah!" "This way, this way!" The pressure was palpable. The little tykes tried to do something to gain the approval of the adults, although it seemed most had no idea how to actually achieve that mission. 

What a contrast between those two games! I found myself wondering why the atmosphere that flourished in the adult game was not allowed to grow in the children's match. Does anyone really believe the experience of those 5-year-olds to be of any lasting value for a child of that age? Are those entry level leagues doing more harm than good?

On my drive home, I wondered how many people went to that children's game and thought to themselves that there was no place else in the world they would rather be at that moment. Sadly, I doubt anybody had that feeling.

Mon Depardieu!

Sepp Blatter launches FIFA movie at Cannes film festival after spending £16million on production costs

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has caused yet another storm by committing the world football body to the multi-million-pound funding of a film that is regarded as little more than a giant vanity project.

United Passions, which was launched with Blatter in attendance at the Cannes film festival yesterday, tells the history of FIFA through founder Jules Rimet, played by Gerard Depardieu, Joao Havelange and Blatter himself — who is depicted by Tim Roth. ...

See the whole story here, from Mail Online.

Kicking Back Comments: Ohhhhhhhhh I gotta see this one. I can see why it is being called a vanity project as sources have FIFA bankrolling about 84% if the total cost of the film ... which is not getting great reviews.

Ah well, at least I'm sure I'll get a laugh when I see it. Watch for the full review here!

Oops

Award of World Cup to Qatar ‘a mistake’, admits Sepp Blatter

French and German government officials went through the motions yesterday of rejecting Sepp Blatter’s suggestion that it had been the interest of big business in their two countries that had been a key factor in Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup.

Neither, though, bothered to question the Fifa president’s assertion that choosing the middle-eastern emirate had been “a mistake”.

See the whole story here, courtesy of The Irish Times.

Kicking Back Comments: Gee Sepp, ya think it was a screw up? 

What is astounding to me is that it should not have been a mystery about how hot it was in Qatar during the time for the World Cup (June/July). If you look at any technical report (example of the 1984 Olympic Games is here) it's pretty clear this was a detail that was not missed, but rather ignored ... and without a mention of changing the dates of the tournament (I believe) for the 1st time in history.

Sepp's "apology" is not worth the breath he used to speak it. Like his leadership, it rang hollow and was plainly dishonest based on the economic reality of who stands to make millions it this tragic wake of a decision.

I always appreciate it when folks say "I screwed up ... and I'm sorry" ... so long as they actually mean it. For me, I don't believe for a New York minute Sepp did.

US 2022 "Dream Team" with FIFA's Dear Leader

You make the call: 4th Official Version

As I prepare this evening to address a group of referees regarding some thoughts on the 4th official, I recalled the below incident in the Bruins v. Montreal series where Shawn Thorton gave PK Subban a "carwash" during the last minute of Game 5. This incident is below, take a peek:



Now, my question is, if you were the 4th Official, standing in the shoes of Pierre McGuire (seen just to the right of the incident) what would you do, and how would you do it?

My thoughts in a few days ...

38 Dead Children; 56 More Injured

Do I have your attention now?

I hope so, as these are the latest statistics detailed by Anchored for Safety, a non-profit group to raise awareness for goal safety, after the tragic death of Zach Tran who was killed in October of 2003 by a portable goal.

I was reminded of this again by NRAH author, Paul Levy, in his recent post "My personal bit of intolerance" and I certainly re-visited my post "That's netting to joke about."

Zach's heartbreaking story can be seen below, and at the linked sites.

As a referee, as a parent, a spectator ... any reason if you are walking by a portable goal, check to make sure its anchored. If its not, please fix it or get help to do so immediately.

Your actions will save a life.

When in Doubt, Blame Brazil

World Cup 2014: Brazil putting FIFA ‘through hell,’ official says

With the 2014 FIFA World Cup only five weeks away, one might expect soccer’s global governing organization to be in a festive mood. But that isn’t stopping high-level FIFA officials from complaining about the tournament’s host country.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary, said on Tuesday that FIFA is supporting Brazil to ensure the success of its premier event — the World Cup — but that the road leading up to the World Cup has been rocky, according to an AFP report. ...

See the whole story here, from SI Wire.

Kicking Back Comments: Aside from the whining, the funniest part of the article was Valcke stating that Russia will not be granted such leniency.

That's pretty funny. Russia will take what it wants from FIFA and they will like it.

Another part that struck me was the assertion (with conviction) that 2022 was going to be played in the winter. Did I miss a vote somewhere? How about an announcement from some TV sponsor about how this was going to work?

It continues to amaze me how much FIFA believes their own BS.

Another Legend has Left Us

Looking back in history I always find it fascinating to understand the trendsetters, the trailblazers. It is with sadness I have learned of the passing of referee legend and trendsetter, Frank Hasek at the age of 91.

Frank played professionally in Europe and began his refereeing career there, ultimately aspiring to FIFA referee in 1964, the very first from Massachusetts. A man who put us on the map as a refereeing community. 

In my experience however he was one of the most humble men about achieving such an accomplishment. His wisdom would come through in his long and at times very long stories, and would always have a fabulous point to them as they concluded.

He has helped so many in their career and I was among them.

So many great stories to tell, so much more to learn. 

Arrangements for Frank can be found on the MSRC website.

Officers from Portuguese Sports, John Medeiros, Frank Scarsella, Anthony Martone and Frank Hasek at MASS HOF Awards Ceremony

Are you Ready for Some World Cup?

Words are not enough

It was a sad day indeed when I saw this article from Paul Levy at Not Running a Hospital:

"In memoriam: Frank Scarcella"

My words can not adequately express the loss of such an amazing human being who has touched me so deeply. I am proud to say I was one of his students, and learned so much from him.

Details on his arrangements can be found at www.massref.net.

Brilliant Analysis from A Legend

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics

It's time to look at ourselves — and our collective moral outrage — in the mirror, says former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Moral outrage is exhausting. And dangerous. The whole country has gotten a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome from the newest popular sport of Extreme Finger Wagging. Not to mention the neck strain from Olympic tryouts for Morally Superior Head Shaking. All over the latest in a long line of rich white celebrities to come out of the racist closet. (Was it only a couple days ago that Cliven Bundy said blacks would be better off picking cotton as slaves? And only last June Paula Deen admitted using the “N” word?) ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of Time.

Kicking Back Comments: Brilliant analysis from one of the games legends. It for me was also a stark reminder that many of these folks are more than the one dimension they are best known for. Then again, this situation has also reminded me that there are some that are no good at the one thing they are supposed to be doing.

The former is an important lesson to remember as people are multi-dimensional and while they may be known for one thing, likely have many other skills to back that up. The latter unfortunately is that some (not just Senator Reid which I cited) will use any misfortune to their own advantage or gain.

This is after all the variety that we could describe as the spice of life.

 

A Tale of Two Sports Orginizations

After a bit of traveling, I am back in the States and firmly at my keyboard. I have to say too, that I could not have returned at a better time to make this comparison.

Recently we have been witness to two separate incidents of racism, and each organizing authorities action to them over this last week.

First, we have the NBA Clippers' owner Donald Sterling whose private conversation was surreptitiously recorded (in abrogation of CA law) making racist comments in the presence of his girlfriend. As a result, the NBA commissioner, upon a very brief deliberation period, suspended Sterling for life.

Now this is not to debate if it was too long, too short, or just right a suspension. Nor is it an invitation to debate the legality of the action. You can bet this will be taken to the courts and debated there, Donald is going to sue everybody over this one.

It is however meant to serve as a juxtaposition to the recent comments by FIFA president Sepp Blatter who stated after a contemporary event of racism with Dani Alves, where fans threw him a banana at a corner kick that, "... FIFA will not tolerate racism at this summer's World Cup."

What? Sepp, what about the incident that JUST HAPPENED!?!?!

As usual, it was a gutless response from FIFA to a serious issue.

Just for a second put the two next to each other:

NBA - Life Ban. Near instant trust restored in the league.

FIFA - Nothing. Except another promise to do more soon. Trust chasm widens even more (if possible).

Sounds about what I am expecting from FIFA in regard to governance ... nothing.

That said, Dani and compatriots reaction was simply brilliant in the face of such stupidity. Take a peek at the article. It was a unified and clever response to something vile.

Boobs, FIFA "Mafia," and a Cool Journalist

So I was looking at how the protests are staring to pick up again in Brazil as we close in on starting FIFA 2014 ... and it does not look pretty.

Nor should it honestly as billions (with a "b") pour into the country and almost none will be seen by its citizens.

In kicking around the inter-web-super-highway, I came across  Topless FEMEN protesters storm German football TV show, and it piqued my interest on many levels.

First, was certainly the nature of the protest to storm onto a live TV set half naked. How do you hide that, and why did the very stylishly dressed bodyguards take so long in getting to the stage?

Second, while the visual aspect of the protest was great, their vocal message, "Boycott FIFA Mafia" was somewhat dull and just repeating it over and over did nothing for me. I don't think they expected to get that far.

Third, was the very cool host that instead of just whisking these folks away, he actually stopped and ask one of them what they were protesting ... and they answered candidly and politely. It was actually quite refreshing.

Finally, was the fact that we are already seeing organized protests over the Qatar decision. While I don't expect ANY in country, I believe we will continue to see the same outside of Qatar and Russia in the days to come protesting what FIFA is doing to the workers of these countries.

You can bet these protesters will be looking at Brazil to see just how far FIFA will let them go.

Speak Against Instant Replay and Get Suspended: Torre

MLB to fine Red Sox manager John Farrell for instant replay remarks

As if John’s Farrell’s weekend in New York wasn’t lousy enough, the Red Sox manager will get a not-so-pleasant parting gift from MLB.

Joe Torre, MLB’s executive VP of baseball operations, told the Daily News on Monday that Farrell would be fined for his critical remarks about baseball’s new replay system following Boston’s 3-2 loss Sunday night.

The comments, which included Farrell saying “it’s hard to have any faith in the (replay) system,” came after instant replay decisions went against the Sox in losses on Saturday and Sunday.

Perhaps the only thing keeping Farrell from a suspension is the fact Torre, the former Yankees skipper, knows how pressure-packed a Bombers-Red Sox series can be.

“I’m not going to suspend him. It will be a fine,” Torre said of Farrell. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of NYDailynews.com.

Kicking Back Comments: While on the surface Mr. Torre seems to be the benevolent dictator only fining Farrell, and not suspending him as Torre foreshadowed, if not for the heated atmosphere that is the Red Sox v. Yankees, I think the reason is far more simpler ...

MLB blew their first Instant Replay call and are deeply embarrassed.

Torre for his part picked the very same line out of the Farrell tirade that I did regarding losing faith in a system that is brand new. He (and MLB) clearly did not like that.

Even funnier was that Torre in defending the system said it will take "three years to roll out."

Hold on here ... there are 2430 games in a MLB season ... and it is going to take 3 of these ... a unbelievable 7290 games to get instant replay right!??!

Are you &*#&ing kidding me?? Three years to "get it right?" What a joke.

A wrong camera angle was to blame for the error that did not get to the umpires "until after they decided." Again, what a joke.

MLB should have just turned on the cable coverage and seen it clear as day.

So Farrell get a fine for the screw up of the league, awesome.

Torre "spares" Farrell a suspension, I think, to save himself the embarrassment of a system gone horribly wrong ... and this was one of the first times it was used.

Can you see this in Game 7 of a World Series? Oops ... sorry guys ... our fault.

No worries Joe, we know you'll get it right ... in 2017.

Yeah, it will go just like that.

Just leave it to the guys in blue ... please ... just leave it to them.

How's replay working for us now?

Sox skipper Farrell ejected for arguing replay ruling

NEW YORK -- Red Sox manager John Farrell boiled over with frustration on Sunday night after a replay call was challenged and overturned, leading to the Yankees scoring what ended up being the deciding run in the series finale. Farrell was ejected, as managers have been instructed not to argue plays under review.

The play happened in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Francisco Cervelli hit a grounder to third, with the Red Sox attempting a 5-4-3 double play.

Cervelli, who was injured on the play, was originally ruled out at first. But Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged it, and the call was overturned. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of MLB.com.

Kicking Back Comments: "But we need replay to correct these mistakes," the masses shouted. Guess what ... the masses were wrong.

I'm not at all surprised of course, just hate to see it to one of the nice guys of the game John Farrell.

I could go into a frenzy about how poorly replay was used in this case, or how managers are instructed not to argue after the replay decision is made (which is why Farrell was ejected), and how MLB after the game said they screwed up and got the replay call wrong which was directly causal to the Red Sox losing that game.

Nope, I won't. I'll just leave you with Farrell's telling comment about replay that now hangs on the MLB:

"On the heels of yesterday, it's hard to have any faith in the system, to be honest with you."

We're 8 games into the season and have already lost faith on the 2014 crowning jewel of officiating, the instant replay ...

... I'm surprised it took this long.

Let's Face It ... The Revolution is Training Wheels for Jonathan

So as if almost on cue with our last post on an aspect of "the soccer business", JAFO comes forward and hands us a cracker from Boston Magazine, The Krafts Are the Worst Owners in the League, by Kevin Alexander.

It is a great read worth the time.

Mr. Alexander I believe correctly comes to a few conclusions in the article about the importance of the Krafts' in getting MLS off the ground, but also the fact that for a variety of reasons he enumerates, they are one of, if not the worst owners in MLS.

There are a few I would add as well that were touched on, but not highlighted.

First, the Krafts' are not soccer folk, they are good business folk. This was highlighted to me on the league home opener for the Revs when they played DC. I had the distinction of being on the refereeing crew along with Esse Baharmast, Ed Resendes, and Del Rainho. I was serving as 4th that day.

As you would expect we lined up for a whole bunch of pomp and circumstance for the 1st ever MLS match in Massachusetts. Jonathan Kraft was due to take the ceremonial kick to start the festivities and everyone was aflutter (myself included) to make sure everything was "just right."

Prior to the actual taking of the ceremonial kick there was palpable concern if Jonathan could actually complete his task of kicking a soccer ball. One team official stated that there was concern he would "... roll over the ball and might break his leg." He wasn't kidding either.

Fortunately for all Jonathan did fine.

Second, the Krafts' have an awesome complex at Foxboro and have sunk a ton of money into it. It is no wonder folks are dragging their heels to go somewhere else. With a limited number of hame games every year in the NFL ... and not great weather ... it sure makes good business sense to have as many events there in the warmer time of year. MLS seems reasonable ... and draws on the order of 14K per match. Almost last in the league, but still a good captive audience for dinner at Tastings (among others).

Third, Boston is a tough market given the success of the other (4) major teams here. Please note, I am speaking generally about the Celtics at this point. Let's face it between the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, and Celtics, Boston is treated to some of the winningest sports teams in history. Let's also face it that the Revs are not a great team historically as MLS goes. In fact, other than Dallas, New England is the only original team to NOT win a MLS Cup nor a Supporter Shield in 18 years!

Now this last point may realistically be due in part to the lack of money the Krafts' are willing to put into the team ... which is a self fulfilling prophecy as to why they do not do well.

Finally, I personally believe that the Revs are training wheels for Jonathan to manage the Patriots. Heck, experience is important and if you can get experience like this, you should. It is a reasonable "warm up" for Jonathan, who I believe will certainly take on the Patriots one day.

So what do we do? Honestly I'm torn as the only way I would have become a MLS referee is because I had a team (literally) in my back yard. It would not have happened in the "early days" any other way. Do we continue and suffer mediocre to poor ownership for our only MLS team, or do we thank our benevolent benefactors for a great start, and part ways?

It was noted in the article also that the Krafts' refused to provide comment for the story, outside of (and I'm paraphrasing) ... We are busy getting ready for a Patriot's playoff game.

[sigh]


Who knows, maybe our fortune will change when Tom Brady retires, and Bill goes off with Bon Jovi and buys the Buffalo Bills.

Look out MLS Cup, here we come!!

Got What It Takes?

Building the Soccer Pyramid: Cash is king for aspiring USL PRO squads

Right now, there are operational professional soccer teams in 39 different markets across the first three tiers of US Soccer – MLS, NASL and USL PRO – and if everything goes according to plan, 2015 will see another two markets enter the fold.

But if you accept USL PRO president Tim Holt’s evaluation of the North American soccer landscape, that means we’re only at 50 percent capacity.

“I think there are anywhere between 50 to 75 different markets in the United States that can support, under the right circumstances, a professional soccer team,” Holt tells MLSsoccer.com. “It’s not the craziest thing. You’re talking about another 20 to 30 markets, potentially, that don’t have professional soccer that could support professional soccer.” ...

See the whole story here from MLSSoccer.com.

Kicking Back Comments: Current and aspiring professional referees take note - soccer is a business. Rightly or wrongly referees are thrust into business decisions of these smaller clubs.

Can we wait 5 more minutes to get everyone in the gate?

Can we hold off on that rain delay, the lightning is not that close?

Did you hear what #6 said? You have to send him off, he is offending my fans!

These are all questions I have faced as a referee at these smaller professional clubs.

So what do you do? Follow the letter of the LOTG, or flex a bit to give a small business its best chance? But just how far can you go?

Extend the kickoff, extend the match, give the home team "a break?"

For those looking to get into the MLS and beyond, be prepared to negotiate this small business landscape. Decisions you make, will follow you for the rest of your career.

Where's the replay?? Do something to get the replay!!

Take a look at this one at full speed. Goal?

FIFA Prepares to re-vote on 2018 and 2022 World Cups!!

It would seem that the independent ethics probe lead by Michael Garcia has done far more than survived the plot to overthrow him, it has now fully convinced the FIFA EX-CO that a revote on 2018 and 2022 World Cups is needed to save a shred of ethical fabric and show the world FIFA can again be a pillar of good will for football.

Mr. Garcia now has strong EX-CO support lead by Mr. Blatter and Mr. Boyce, who recently stated that he "would have considered quitting" had Mr. Garcia's probe been cut short.

Granted there are very strong words from both Russia and Qatar, with both nations angry at FIFA for allowing  revote and not giving back any of the monies both nations "advanced" to FIFA for being considered a host nation.

While Mr. Putin was busy with other matters apparently, sports ministers Alexander Sidyakin and Michael Markelov, have demanded that the US is thrown out of the 2018 World Cup. While largely unreported it is apparently for Mr. Garcia's ethics probe and nothing to do with the gun running Russia was caught doing under Mr. Garcia's watch. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Qatar was equally nonplussed with FIFA's sudden reversal on a vote and immediately ceased work on all those air conditioned stadia which needed to be ready for 2022 in a clear sign of defiance. This however did give the Qatar organizing committee and FIFA an opportunity to discuss workers rights which as we know is a vital concern to both FIFA and Qatar.

One clear winner would seem to be Japan who is willing to undertake the 2022 role should FIFA strip the Qatar nation of its duties.

Even England is not without controversy in this go around as recently Howard Webb expressed regret at some of his decisions in the 2010 final.

In hearing this, FIFA immediately expelled Webb from further consideration at the 2014 World Cup and replaced him with Springfield USA native Homer Simpson, as announced on 30-MAR-14 on Fox.

Happy April 1st.

Why players don't need the referee

I'll tell you honestly folks, I genuinely believe that this statement (players don't need the referee) is true.

In fact, I'd go so far to say that The Game may be better without anyone except players. Other than my personal feeling and experience of getting the heck out of the way to let players (in a good natured way) sort things out for themselves, I offer (2) examples.

First is from our friend Dutch Referee in his blog entry "10 Rules of Football as a Kid." Pay close attention to rule #6, "No Referee."

Why not? Because no one other than players has a real interest in sorting out who the rightful winner is.

Think about how many times as a kid we were playing together, and something happened that was unfair. Who dealt with it? The players themselves.

How did they deal with it? Well it depended on what happened and to whom right?

If someone got a little hurt, we checked in and kept playing, but if really banged up, we would stop and get mom.

If someone did something outside "the rules" it would bring protests and if it continued we would say "We don't want to play any more." This very think happened yesterday to Little Ms.. She was out playing with some friends and came in when another playmate pushed her into a puddle. Game over.

It is rather incredible when we allow players to self regulate, more often than not, they can take care of it themselves. Yes, I know sometimes we have to play the role of "mom" and look in on more seriously injured players, or give cookies out when feelings are hurt. Yes, at time we play "dad" too when a stern warning is in order to make sure that does not happen again, or if it does you send the player "to their room."

All and all however, we should strive to let the players play and manage only those exceptional situations that really, REALLY, need our direct involvement.

A second example was provided to me my a friend of mine (thanks Pat!) and speaks to the fact that players will look out for each other when things get very serious.

Take a look at "WATCH: Ukrainian soccer player may have saved opponent's life."

Here we have a higher level professional match, where players are paid to compete, yet despite that there was a clear sense of compassion when an opponent was knocked out cold by a keeper and seemed to suffer respiratory distress as a result. In came a team mate of the keeper to save the life, or at the very least come to the aid of, an opponent that was in some form of distress.

When I get the opportunity to speak these about match management, to start the discussion I take a copy of the LOTG and either tear it in half, or toss it over my shoulder to make a couple of points.

First, is that you are not going to find the majority of what you face as a referee in the LOTG. Look at the 2013-14 LOTG ... the 17 laws don't even take up 50 pages of text. There is not a lot there to go over the myriad of situation you will be put through. In that way the LOTG is a guide, not a "rule book" on what to do. That is one of the beautiful things about the document and being a soccer referee, the ability to craft a unique path every time and still adhere to the spirit of what is in that book.

Second, is that ultimately the LOTG does not matter, the players are going to do what the players are going to do and nothing in that 50 page book is going to help. You as referee, once realizing this fact, should seek to unobtrusively manage those players on that day to come out with a result that they think is just.

Some may be sitting back and thinking this is refereeing by some Lord of the Flies method. Its not as there are certainly bounds. My point is the players will let you know where those bounds are well before the LOTG does ... and you as referee should be listening.

THIS is the type of strike we need!!!!!

Is FIFA now a sponsor of terror?

The proof FIFA gave the 2022 World Cup to sponsors of terror

• Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew ambassadors from Qatar in protest at country's support for destabilising factions
• The sermons of extreme Islamist cleric Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi are regularly broadcast on Qatari state television
• Al-Qaradawi is banned from entering the USA, UK and France
• The Doha-based International Centre for Sport Security's vice-president retweeted a campaign to raise funds for Syrian jihadists

See the whole opinion piece here from Mail Online.

Kicking Back Comments:

An interesting article with many points that if taken as factual, add up to FIFA essentially knowing they gave sold a World Cup to a state that sponsors terror.

Do I believe that FIFA is, or supports, terrorism.

No.

Why?

Very simply, its bad for business in the long run.

Now I certainly believe that Sepp has an axe to grind against the UK, and would do everything in his power to make sure another World Cup is never played there again. I have to believe he has similar bias toward other countries, or at least individuals, that do not support him outwardly.

That however is a far cry from supporting terrorism.

No workers rights are another story ... in Brazil where there have been several workers who have died building stadia, and Qatar where there have been multiples more ...

Sadly I think FIFA has made the calculation they can "PR" these incidents away with promises and strong statements like "no more."

To them I believe it is a calculation about how much FIFA can extract from countries, without looking "too bad" in the process.

Dying workers seems to pass muster ... but state sponsored terrorism is even too far for FIFA. They would be shunned from the world and left penniless (except for their billions in the bank). Which after all seems to be the primary reason for their existence ... to line their own pockets.

Let's (re)Start with a Bang!

Since this is my first post after coming back from Italy on business, I somehow find it appropriate to roll out this clip. It depicts a goal and subsequent celebration from an Italian league match.

Excessive?

Programming Note

Friends,

It has been a trying couple of weeks with the loss of Madame X's mother who succumb to Alzheimer's Disease and the accompanying ceremonies for such an event.

As fate has it I will also be traveling for a period of time and generally unplugged.

Have no fear however as the MLS Referee Strike has "graced" the opening of the MLS season this year, and I certainly have more than a few things to say about it.

Also, as we tick closer to Brazil 2014 we are starting to see a host of security concerns coming from FIFA, as they start to already place the blame for any bad event on the host nation.

Oh yes folks, the snow is melting and we are just getting started to kick off another season in the US ... and a World Cup in Brazil.

Stay tuned!

Experimental Rule 7.13, et al ...

Major League Baseball has adopted Experimental Rule 7.13, governing collisions at home plate. Including the rulebook commentary, which guides implementation of the rule, it takes 351 words to say that runners may not go out of their way to barrel over a catcher, and that a catcher cannot block home plate without having the ball. The word “buttocks” is included, so you know it’s good. ...

See the whole story here, from Sporting News.

Kicking Back Comments: I'm not sure what is funnier the "rule modifications" suggested by SN, or concern showed my MLB to make this "experimental" for 2014. I mean, come on folks, if you think it is important, do it, don't go half way.

For any interested, the text of the rule itself can be found here, in a tweet from MLB.

It's the people, not the rules

I caught an interesting article from Mike Woitalla in Soccer America titled, Put refs and coaches in the same room. Similar in venue to what we discussed last week with He Blinded Me With Science!, this discussion too was from the US Youth Soccer gathering in Philadelphia. The .pdf of the slide deck can be found here.

In the ether, the points have some merit. While I am sure that some actual polling went behind the conclusions, I have to believe the sample size was so small and the focus so narrow that the actual results are not quite on point or at least so general to be not helpful to anyone specific.

Don't get me wrong, they are worth reading as again, each has merit, at least at the highest level of abstraction. Also, the title is a good idea unto itself as well ... provided they are the right referees and coaches. At the professional level this is an absolute necessity, but even there, with the right people. Can we really imagine the outcome of placing a group of young, youth referees in a room with a bunch of older coaches? Are the issues all rules and regulations, or is there something else at play here?

Do we really think that if we take Peter Walton's advise from this article and have referees be more demonstrative in signaling fouls that the types of issues hurled on referees, such as abuse, will end?

How about inconsistency? Do we as referees always want to be consistent regarding fouls all the time for the same reason? I hope not as any number of situations may cause us to intentionally stray from this course of action.

Two very concrete points I really like are (a) make players and coaches take a referee class and exam. This sadly was recently removed from anyone who was getting their "A" license and to the best of my knowledge the certification requires no actual referee classroom work or experience. (b) Is to require coaches to referee a set of matches to feel what it is like to referee.

Some have commented this is not very practical and I disagree strongly. With these (2) steps you could make at least coaches feel empathy for these young youth referees which is what I believe is the intent behind "getting in the same room."

I think we keep forgetting, it is not about the silly rule book or how it is executed in the majority of the youth soccer games across the planet ... it's about the people and how we choose to manage each other. I believe humility and empathy are far more important than demonstrative signals and consistency.

Don't believe me? Try using NFL type signals the next time out and see the reaction you get.

How Brad Meier got screwed (not how he screwed the Russians)

By now most have heard about how the US Men's Olympic Hockey has advanced to play Canada in the Semi-Finals today (21-FEB-14) at 12:00 EST.

Team USA has played well, but not without controversy during the match with Russia on 15-FEB-14, where the USA won in overtime after a goal (box score) which was disallowed by American NHL referee Brad Meier.

To be clear I am not here to dispute the call. By all accounts it was correct for the international game. I am also not here to talk about the fanaticism of the Russian fans united to "make soap" out of Meier.

My beef is actually with the supervisor of officials for the International Ice Hockey Federation, Konstantin Komissarov. Now you say, that's odd as Komissarov was front and center in defending the referees for making the correct call, and has been vocal about it since the event occurred. My issue is why Meier was even assigned in the first place.

Meier was born in the US (Ohio) and was shortly moved to Canada where he has spent his life, however has never renounced his US citizenship and holds passports for both countries, making him both a Canadian and US citizen. From this my question becomes why oh why was a US citizen assigned to a US match!?!?!

There were several other referees available to do this (list of 2014 officials here) so why even have a whiff of impropriety‎? Yes Meier is supremely qualified and did a nice job in the match and no I don't think he was tainted in any way, but why even risk it?

Now look what we have ... protests be damned as they are of no consequence ... we have a good referee that made the correct call who will be excluded from any future games this Olympics IMHO. Now functionally that may have been the case anyway as if either the US or Canada go through he would be excluded due to seeing them already or his citizenship, respectively. Then again, can he "turncoat" to US citizenship if Canada goes through?

My point being that I think it was actually pretty silly to assign a US Citizen to a USA match, even if that citizenship is shared with another country. It has put a fog on the USA win over Russia, will certainly have a similar effect if they medal, and most importantly to me, has an excellent referee out of the ruining at a chance to referee a medal match.

He Blinded Me With Science!

Over the last couple of years I had described how like soccer players, soccer referees are endurance athletes, particularly when it comes to refereeing a several match set in the same day.

Recently, the NSCAA held its annual convention in Philly and was attended by Jay Williams, who is the author of several publications including the blog The Science of Soccer. Kicking back has been following him for some time and enjoys both the raw science and commentary he provides.

Mr. Williams was recently asked to speak at the NSCAA annual convention and provided an excellent presentation and slide deck about recovery, both can be viewed here at his blog.

Why beyond curiosity is this important you may ask? I'll offer (2) reasons:

1. It helps to further understand the sport and its participants from a scientific perspective. Understanding what a player is going through is important to understanding how to manage a match. If you have ever run into a player who is "bonking" and their mood, you'll know what I mean.
2. Referees are endurance athletes and this information applies to them as well. Don;t forget a referee is running around for 90 minuets as well, and expends energy just like anyone else. Keep in mind, the ability to make accurate decision is also based on fatigue, and how quickly one fatigues depends in part on energy levels of the individual. You want to make good decisions for 90 minuets, fuel yourself properly.

Take a look at the preso as it presents some very necessary steps to assure an individual recovers properly for the next effort.

I'd also recommend the blog generally as the information presented is quite good.

Who said they can't sing

The song on Valentine's Day from English soccer fans



For any interested, the is a cover of Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden



Not quite "battle of the bands"... but not bad at all.

Happy Valentines Day. Don't forget to thanks those who you love in supporting our passion.

PA to ask FIFA to expel Israel

Chairman of Palestinian Football Association says Israel should be expelled for failing to abide by FIFA conventions.

The Palestinian Authority will ask the Federation Internationale de Football Association to expel Israel from the organization for failing to abide by its conventions, Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, announced Wednesday.

Rajoub, a senior Fatah official and former Palestinian Authority security commander, said that the Palestinians won’t accept any compromises or half solutions to solve the problems facing Palestinian athletes and sports. ...

Se the whole story here, courtesy of jpost.com.

Kicking Back Comments: While I hope that FIFA does not take this issue seriously as everyone should be welcomed by FIFA, later in the article I noted some of the supporting nations for this action, one of which was Qatar.

Also recently I took great note late week when in the Qatar capital Doha, during the Swimming World Cup, local officials both refused to fly the Israel flag, and in at least one occasion, whitewashed it. See Qatari Insult from jpost.com for the details.

From this editorial the author suggests that FIFA should be taking a hard look at this conduct and weigh in for the 2022 World Cup. I do agree.

While in recent days the focus on Qatar rightfully is on their exploitation of  the migrant workers and have recently signed on to a new set of conditions for these workers (source), we will see what actually comes to pass.

I am personally doubtful that things will change significantly as from reports these workers were literally dying every day. How much better can things get from there?

It continues to make me wonder what FIFA uses as a template for suitability for a World Cup. We are on the cusp of a World Cup in Brazil and there are serious questions about safety and security of all participants, and that is saying nothing about the unrest in the region toward the displeasure of the Brazil government.

We see Russia openly making laws against homosexuals and sub-standard conditions for many during the ongoing Winter Olympics which have become iconic on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SochiProblems).

Now we have Qatar with its workers literally dying at its feet, a World Cup calendar moved, and about an air of brown envelopes and promises of beautiful weather.

Like many of us, I have read some of the bid specs ... but through those outright lies in some cases, FIFA has to exercise some common sense to protect the crown jewel of The Game.

Anytime now FIFA, anytime now.

A Bridge Too Far

Enough!

At this point I am opining FIFA is losing its collective mind with the news they are actually considering video replays for matches.

Ah, have no fear you may say as it sounds innocent enough.

It is just being studied ... they say.

Simply a proposal ... some muse.

Why oh why are they doing this? It is clear enough they are unwilling to trust their own referees with the advent of GLT and have the ability to retroactively dole out punishment for incidents caught on tape that the match committee feels warrants additional action (this later practice I agree with).

Why, when GLT has been proven 100% effective in tests conducted by FIFA, used in various competitions, and is about to be used in all World Cup matches this year (assuming the stadia are competed) do we need more?

What is FIFA after?

Well ... here are some thoughts on this topic.

First, is a big fat I told you so. I somehow knew that once the camel's nose was under the tent, FIFA could not help itself. Take a look at what I wrote back on July 6th 2012 on the topic. I saw it then and am scared to death of it now.

Second, FIFA has no faith in its GLT system. It went to the lowest bidder after all. GoalControl has yet to be proven in any actual significant action and am willing to bet when really tested, it has not, and will not, perform well. PR videos of the "testing" are hilarious and I hope are not representative about what was actually done.

Third, FIFA really wants replay, and in fact it will swallow GLT whole. FIFA I opine is not happy with Goal, Offside, and Penalty decisions. I'll throw it out here that any replay decision will include all (3) of these.

How it gets implemented is anyones guess, but in any case it will be a disaster as you are going to have to stop the match either for the review, or the action that comes from the review.

Take the NFL or MLB as examples. In these cases, a review can be easily worked into the flow of the game itself as there are natural starts and stops all the time. Here it makes the most sense (I still hate it though).

Of all the other sports with reply the NHL may be the closest analog where they can look at a goal which was awarded that may not have counted for a variety of reasons (e.g. kicking the puck in the net). This, assuming I buy replay at all, makes the most sense ... but wait ... FIFA now has GLT that is 100% effective ... why are we changing course?

I think we are changing course folks as soon we will see either a booth referee looking at incidents, or a challenge type of system like the NFL and now MLB (thanks a lot Bud) where a limited number of challenges are allowed in a particular period of time.

It is unworkable in soccer as the game is too fluid for such drivel. That what makes it a beautiful game, and with continued tinkering how FIFA is going to ruin it.

Call of the Superbowl

In a past article (What Tony Hayward and referees have in common) I discussed in part how NFL referee Phil Luckett on November 26, 1998 made exactly the right call on a coin toss which several NFL players and coaches tried to imply the referee made a mistake that cost the Pittsburg Steelers the game. From my article: 

My favorite of all time is Phil Luckett. Anyone know him? NFL referee extradornare who had the guts to follow the rules during a coin toss on November 26, 1998 when the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Detroit Lions. Yep, this is where Jerome Bettis called "hea-tails" during the coin toss, Luckett when with "heads" as per the rule of the game, the first call uttered is the one to be used. You all know the rest of the story, Steelers lose the toss, and eventually lose the game.

As we can see history can repeat itself and even with the NFL changing how the coin toss must be conducted, if not for the actions Terry McAulay, Superbowl 48 would have started in controversy.

Take a look here to see the article and video.

Mr. McAulay saved the game for falling into controversy with a great catch before the game ever started.

I believe however, he did make one potentially fatal mistake during that exchange ...

Anyone have an opinion?

Why not the ARs too?

As we discussed back in June in, Sex was the price to fix a match ... and lose a FIFA badge, we saw the reports of the Lebanese refereeing trio of referee Ali Sabbagh and assistants, Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, getting tried and jailed for the exchange of sex for attempting to throw a match in Singapore. They never did of course as they were removed previous to ever setting foot on the pitch.

Out today however was a report that FIFA Bans Lebanese Referee for Sexual Favours. This ban for the referee from FIFA is a lifetime and worldwide, effective immediately.

Good on FIFA, this is the right thing to do. 

But ...

Both ARs were only given a ban of 10 additional years each, where the referee was given a lifetime ban. Now, practically speaking, this may have been a lifetime ban as (although I can't find these guys online and their birth dates) another 10 years may have put them over 45, however it was close for the referee as well.

Each referee received the same "favors" per the cited article and were each jailed for the intent to match fix ... so why the difference in punishment?

My opinion ... give them all lifetime and world wide bans for their conduct.

It is often said, and I agree, the referee crew is a team that sinks or swims collectively. An AR has no less culpability that a referee does when it comes to match control or comportment. Certainly an AR has an opportunity to influence a match as they are required to make critical match decisions. We have seen this in recent months at the howling of goal/no goal decisions and the sudden need for GLT.

Given this, why should the ARs suffer less of a fate as the referee? FIFA I believe has again missed an opportunity to say "If you match fix, you are banned for life." While clear for the referee, to not follow through for the ARs gives the impression that (a) ARs are less likely to fix matches, (b) ARs are "worth less" than referees to The Game, (c) there are options other than "life" for such an offense, or (d) some combination of these.

In this case the ARs received the same "spoils" for the attempted match fixing they were all in on. Let them all suffer for their affront to The Game.

FIFA, please take this seriously.

Mimeograph with a sense of humor

Too Much Dabbling?

Yesterday I reported on Jerome Chanpagne's candidacy for FIFA presidency, and also praised him for at least wading into the waters of trying to make a referee's life easier by creating an "orange card" that would have the effect of putting an offending a player in a "sin bin."

He has also suggested a variety of other changes that can be seen at the article.

In the face of all of these suggested changes, and that of MLB approving expanded replay in 2014 and the NFL tinkering with the thought of eliminating the point after touchdown (PAT), are leagues going too far to change the game they represent?

I think so. Instead of tackling the real issues in sport like PEDs, corruption, professional referees, the respective administrators of their sport want to tinker with silly elements that have been, or not been, part of the game for a long time.

If you want to look at a pioneer for changes to the game, look at Sir Ken Aston with the truly meaningful changes he made throughout his life.

Some changes are necessary with time, such as helmets for football players, and eventually as a result in 1956 penalties called "facemasks" were introduced.

Or maybe in gameplay itself as when icing was introduced in 1937 to speed up play and promote attacking hockey.

As I have stated here before I am not a fan of all the technology into the game to "assist" referees. Man has not evolved to the point that another man can't detect if they are cheating or not, as hard as they may try. Changes to the respective games today seem to be toward the introduction of these technological "advances" to "assist" referees.

While there is a case to be made for the technology assistance from some, fundamental changes to the game, such as how the game is scored should be left alone. Last time something like this was changed in the NFL was 1912 when a touchdown was increased from 5 points to 6. Now 100 years later we need to change this for some reason?

In this day and age, changes to the game are not made for the sake of the game itself I feel, but rather to appeal to the widest television market a sport can attain, or correctly said, allow for as many advertisers as possible. I suspect the NFLs motivation is more in this vein.

While an argument has been made that (in the case of the NFL) these PATs are "automatic"and one notable coach names these as "non-plays" and there should not be "non-plays" in the game, it has been part of the game for a long time, and one that still provide some drama, however rare. Currently the last PAT missed was back in December of 2012. In the current season the conversion is hovering around 99.97%.

Not all that long ago (1932) the conversion rate for PATs was around 67% and teams in needing these point developed specialists to nab the PAT. Why take it away? Why not take away the 2 point conversion as well then? Field goals? Forward passes?

Like any game, I want it to be exciting, and some trains of thought may see the PAT as a non-exciting element of the game today. I respectfully disagree. In fact it heightens the drama as you should want to be there for that moment a kicker misses, or a team produces a trick play and runs it in.

How about this for a change to make the PATs more exciting ... make a touchdown worth 4 points ... a filed goal 3 ... retain the 2 point conversion ... and a PAT worth 1.

Yes the scores will be lower, but that PAT will mean a whole lot more.

Clearly it is unlikely they  will change the point value for a touchdown. Why? Certainly tradition.
So they why change the PAT?

Getting back to soccer, a very nice synopsis of law changes can be found here, courtesy of FIFA. Trust me, FIFA has done some dumb things to the LOTG as well, and at times has used the MLS as its petri dish.

I can sum this up in a word (from the early days of MLS):

Rampage.

For those who don't know about it ... imagine a set of (5) kicks per team, a goalkeeper in their net, a player at the 35 yard line, and the rest of the team at midfield. Everybody is in place and waiting. The JAR drops their flag and 22 players run at the ball in an effort to score or defend a score.

It was so absurd and so short lived I can't even find any video evidence of it.

FIFA and MLS quickly got the point how stupid it was, and abandoned the practice.

Tinkering is fine, kick ins for example were actually a cool idea and made sense for the game played with the feet ... but goofing around with the fabric of the game is not.

Just leave it alone guys, please.

Champagne for President!!

For any who have not heard Jerome Champagne will challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency in 2015. If he runs again, this would be a 5th term in office Sepp would seek, at age 78.

Mr. Champagne, aside from a fabulous name, has some very interesting ideas about where to take international football next. Many can be seen in this article from the BBC.

One that really caught my eye, was that of an "Orange Card."

Now, let me be clear, the first use of that term I ever heard (and to great effect) was from Herb Silva, the man behind the curtain at US Soccer literally, who has been incredibly influential and effective as making the professional leagues work.

His use, is stunningly different from that of Mr. Champagne, and is that in between card, when you give a yellow and just a bit more, but not quite send the player off. The term has reached such understanding that I have actually said (while holding up a yellow card) ... consider this orange. Trust me the particular player understood.

Now, the use Champagne has in mind is a bit different, but honestly, not bad. I have to give the man credit for actually considering referees in their approach in controlling matches in mind. It is the first time in a while, I have heard a FIFA bobble head actually give a referee some thought.

I look forward to Mr. Champagne's candidacy with great anticipation.

Your Superbowl Referee ... Terry McAulay

So right on the heels of (3) US Referees being names to the 2014 World Cup, we have the announcement of Terry McAulay named to head the refereeing crew for Super Bowl XXXIX. His crew for the upcoming Super Bowl will be Carl Paganelli (umpire), Jim Mello (head linesman), Tom Symonette (line judge), Scott Steenson (field judge), Dave Wyant (side judge) and Steve Freeman (back judge).

In researching Mr. McAulay you get the pretty standard stuff. Was a high school and college official, married, couple of kids, went to LSU, and has a computer science degree.

Where I really got interested is his involvement was the fact that he worked (2) previous Superbowls (LXIII and XLVIII) and in "bottlegate" on December 16th, 2001. A match between Cleveland and Jacksonville. From Wikipedia:

"The Browns were driving toward the east end zone for what would have been the winning score. Browns' wide receiver Quincy Morgan caught a pass for a first down on 4th and 1. After quarterback Tim Couch spiked the ball on the next play to stop the clock, McAulay announced that they were going to review Morgan's catch, saying that the replay official had buzzed him, indicating for a replay review, before Couch spiked the ball.[7] 

In reviewing the play, McAulay determined that Morgan never had control of the ball, thus the pass was incomplete, and the Jaguars were awarded the ball. However, fans in the "Dawg Pound" began throwing plastic beer bottles and other objects directed at and striking players and officials. McAulay then declared the game over and sent the teams to the locker rooms. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called the game supervisor to override McAulay's decision, sending the players back onto the field after a thirty-minute delay, where the Jaguars ran out the last seconds under a hail of debris.[7]"

If you want to see some crazy behavior, take a looks at the You Tube clip from that incident below:

So honestly I'm not sure what's worse about this whole thing from the following choices:

1. The fan(atics) pathetic and frankly dangerous behavior.
2. TV announcers of this clip making asses of themselves by not only thinking, but actually saying that "... the ref should take control ... of the fans ... by explaining his decision." Soon after saying the referee should end the game, then after he does criticize him for it. I don't even know where to start with that one.
3. A stunningly stupid move by then commish Paul Tagliabue in ordering his refereeing crew back out into the field, in a hail of beer bottles (yeah but there're just plastic says the announcers), and directly into harms way, to play the last seconds.

I was stunned somewhat speechless by this. 

Not the fan(atics) ... I almost expect this type of behavior at times. Certainly not be the announcers as a rule they spot drivel. However in the commish's decision was really poor to put teams and referees in harms way.

Now very interestingly, I actually read the rule on this (here) and was really surprised at what I saw.

From the law:

Under no circumstances is the referee authorized to cancel, postpone, terminate, or declare forfeiture of a game unilaterally.

Yipes!!

A referee must contact the comissh office to get direction. A referee can not do it on their own.

I can almost, almost, see the point when it comes to weather, but fan disorder like this, and you have to call a guy x miles away watching on TV and he says "get back out there."

That seems a little crazy, and even worse, distrustful of the assessment of the refereeing team. After all, they trust them with an outcome of the game, but not a decision to continue it or not?

As referees, do we have this authority? If so, where in the LOTG does it lie?

Well for those who did not know, we do, and it can be found in Law 5 which states a referee has the power to:

Stop(s), suspends or abandons the match, at his discretion, for any infringements of the Laws.

This is true for all levels of the match and it happens at nearly all levels of the match. Just take a look.
I would think this one ended well before the military helicopter landed on the field.

How far would you tell the commish to pound sand if they said "get back out there" in this case? 

For Immediate Release: Northeast Regional FUTSAL Tournament

Once again Massachusetts is host to the largest futsal tournament in the US with over 150 teams!!!

On January 18, 19, and 20 2014 the Northeast Regional Futsal tournament will be held at University Sports Complex in Hanover (645 Washington St, Hanover, MA 02339).

Matches will start at 8:00 am and finish by 9:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. 
Monday will be the finals.

Check here for updates!!

In the mean time to see some amazing futsal action, take a look below.

Congrats to US Referees Geiger, Hurd, and Boria

Referee trios and support duos appointed for 2014 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA Referees Committee, meeting in Zurich yesterday (14 January 2014) under the chairmanship of Jim Boyce (Northern Ireland), has appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 different countries for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

FIFA has implemented a comprehensive programme to ensure that the referees for its flagship competition are in peak condition come 12 June. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of Fifa.com.

Kicking Back Comments: While not unexpected, it is always welcomed to see a US face in a World Cup. Hearty congratulation to Mark, Mark, and Eric.

This is an accomplishment that so few will ever have. Enjoy the fruits of your hard work.

To look at the full list of referees going to Brazil is not so shocking both in geographic location, and by name. The full list of referees and alternates can be seen here (.pdf).

Put an asterisk by his name too

I'll begin by saying, as I have in the past, I am not a "baseball guy." I have demonstrated this several times and been rightly corrected by JAFO on a variety of topics. With the whole A-Rod steroid thing, I just can't help myself though.

My ire is not for A-Rod, who while completely unlikable, is accurate in saying he did not test positive for PEDs. This is however similar to the NFL policy on recreational drugs, as a well announced test after training camp that you would have to be a dope (no pun intended) to fail.

I'm also not living in a fantasy world as one of A-Rods lawyers implied David Ortiz was using PEDs. My response is the same ... duh, of course he is.

I could go off again as I did in the Lance Armstrong affair and talk about robbing due process and other procedural issues that really let the leagues ... if they want ... investigate such matters.

Problem is of course, they don't want to, unless it suits them.

This is where my vitriol lies today ... to Bud Selig, the current commissioner of MLB.

To me, it seems clear that part of the reason why A-Rod is being singled out so severely is to preserve Bud Selig's name as he retires as commissioner. While conjecture on my part, the timing does line up.

After all, he is 100% sure that he is retiring in 2014 and is looking for a "Mariano Rivera-esque" 30 ball park farewell tour. (I'd be careful with that one Bud, you may not get what you are looking for) Selig has been the MLB commish for 21 years and stands as the 2nd longest tenure in the game.

He is certainly not without his controversy, including his Brewers ownership and was an active participant of removal of the, then seated, commissioner, Fay Vincent. (source)

Vincent certainly helped define Selig's tenure however when in 2006 with the Barry Bonds PED controversy swirling he stated Selig was "... an observer of a forum beyond his reach." (source)

Selig from that point forward owned the issue, and was seen as essentially neutered to deal with it due to the strength of the PA.

Now to his credit, he got the players (or their union) to agree to drug testing over time, over their very loud objections, and again to his credit, started to build some credibility back into the game itself. Some of this is an illusion of course as the testing protocol was hardly strict ... or unknown to the players ... but it was progress.

Enter around that time Michael Weiner the new MLBPA by all accounts both had no ego about his position, and put the game first. A man after my own heart, an one that tragically succumbed to a brain tumor and recently passed away. Before he did however he recognized PEDs were bad for the game, potentially worse for the user and worst for the non-user who's struggling with the question "to do it" or "not do it." He allowed the staunch anti-PED player to have a loud voice. Selig had no confidence of the players, Weiner did. (In a separate note, if you want to research what a man of integrity is like ... look up Michael Weiner.)

In the agreement reached with the PA and the league, a mainstay was confidentiality regarding any details of infractions and outlined a play by play protocol for any such issues.

Buddy blew it big time when he went to 60 Minutes on the A-Rod stuff.

I am struggling to even understand why MLB went to the media other than Bud's ego, and desire to "put a stamp" on "his legacy."

Really, MLB admitted to buying, even possibly stealing evidence and trashing a man and whatever due process rights and reputation he had all while violating the standing agreement with the PA.

For the good of the game, or for the good of his ego?

Similar to players who rightly should have an asterisk by their name for breaking a record when using PEDs, so should Mr. Selig for feathering his ego before protecting what he is charged to do. He may never have taken PEDs, but his performance was certainly altered by them.

A NHL Life

Often times I use other sports as a way to make a general message. Today is no different.

The NHL produced a series of video starting in November of 2013 called NHL Life. They are available on You Tube and at NHL.com.

Episode 2 in the series focuses on Tom Kowal based out of Calgary who has been with the league since the 1999 season and is below for your enjoyment.

This is well worth the 5ish minutes to view there are some powerful messages in there.

What I found funny was a few of the comments from You Tube shown immediately below. Many folks who are interested in getting to the professional level sometimes think there is some secret sauce that gets dabbed on folks. I'm here to tell you, there isn't.

You want to be a professional, yes you have to practice your craft more than anyone else to be the very best you can, but, you have to be an open, thoughtful, compassionate human when doing so.

Without these traits, it will be hard, if not downright impossible, to be the professional you may want to be.

Don't worry Mr. Akram, Sepp puts me to sleep too

Don't become the show

If your a geek like me the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a place to see the new and upcoming as well as hear from some of the sectors CEOs like Yahoos! Marissa Mayer.

During the show, Samsung had scheduled an unveiling of its new 105" Ultra HDTV, and contracted Michael Bay (see here for full credits), director extraordinaire, to MC the introduction, along with Samsung Executive VP Joe Stinziano.

Take a look at the video below to see the results.



Now, while this could be a discussion about preparation, which is what I personally believe caused this meltdown. Or a discussion about lateral thinking, which there was none here, as when asked the question what were your thoughts, he could have simply said that Transformers (the movie series he directs) would look *awesome* on this TV.

My comment is about Mr. Bay becoming the show, when that is the very last thing he should have done. Now, in this case I also don't believe that it was intentional, but none the less, based on some of the reports, talk is not about the TV, it is about the person. See Samsung's 4K HDTV Reveal Upstaged by Michael Bay Meltdown, as an example.

Being a good referee requires being visible only when necessary, and not making the show about you. Folks are there at all levels of The Game to watch the players, not the referee. Now there are times when the referee inadvertently gets more attention that they should, and I believe that the able is just such a case. When you discover this, work to become invisible again as soon as you can.

There are also cases for very short periods of time a referee must be the focus to take some energy out of the game, and serve as a check valve for some of that pressure.

There are however for more insidious cases however when a referee make The Game about themselves from start to finish. For me, such a referee does not serve The Game at all, only their own egos.

If your goal is to stroke your ego by being larger than The Game, my advise is to try a new line of work, because you will not last long as a referee.

A New Year ... and then some

I have to say I am mostly happy to be back ...

Mostly because it was great to unplug for a few weeks and "take a breath" and also evaluate our year ahead.

I leave 2013 with very mixed emotions as it would have been my last year on The List should I have attained such an honor. It also reminds me just how full of crap FIFA is to cap the age at 45 as I think a pretty compelling case can be made (actually based in science) why the very best referees should be able to work to 50 ... as FIFA used to allow. We will save that for later this month.

It did force me to reflect on my career as a referee and what would have been my forced retirement and my actual retirement from the collegiate game and celebrate Jr. getting geared up to become a referee in early 2014.

It also was a time of recognition from an active career as a referee, to one of a referee coach, assessor, and instructor. It is clearly time to give back for me.

Now before I get all misty, I am still refereeing, actively, just not as much as I used to. Also, my *focus* is no longer my refereeing, but others.

Kicking Back is going to change a bit too in this regard as in looking back at my musings over the last years, it has increasingly stepped away from analysis, and more toward bashing (FIFA).

While I don't intended to stop that practice, especially with some of the lunacy coming from Sepp these days, I think it is important to get back to what Kicking Back was initially intend to be, a thoughtful commentary on sport and how that intersects with refereeing of all types.

To accomplish this however I will be writing a little less in an effort to go a bit deeper in topics so please bear with me as we change form right before your eyes.

I do however reserve the right to rant on occasion about the lunacy that is going on on the international stage ... in fact ... Fridays are that day ... Free-for-all Friday's where there will be little content and big rants.

It is a World Cup year after all, so let's see where we go.

Next up, year 5.