5 votes

Why Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will open the new MLS season with replacement match officials

Posted by kovboydan
Tags: usa, major league soccer, inter miami, referees, work, unions, author.tom bogert, author.pablo maurer, author.jeff rueter, source.theathletic, paywall
https://theathletic.com/5289610/2024/02/21/mls-referees-union-lionel-messi-inter-miami/

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Title
Explained: Why the new MLS season will start with stand-in refs
Authors
Tom Bogert, Pablo Maurer, Jeff Rueter
Word count
1708 words

3 comments

  1. kovboydan
    Link

    Major League Soccer will kick off this season with stand-in referees when Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami hosts Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

    The MLS Players Association (MLSPA), the labor union that represents MLS players, said the lockout of the league’s match officials was a “backward step,” adding in a statement on Tuesday that “the use of replacement referees will not only negatively impact the quality and results of our matches, it may also jeopardize the health and safety of players.”

    The move comes after PSRA, the union that represents professional referees across MLS, the second- and third-tier United Soccer Leagues and the National Women’s Soccer League, and PRO, the MLS-funded body that manages professional officiating in the United States and Canada, failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in January.

    2 votes
  2. [2]
    Power0utage
    Link
    I couldn't read past the summary because of the paywall, but did they reference where the replacement referees are coming from? Are they going to be somewhat competent tonight/this weekend?

    I couldn't read past the summary because of the paywall, but did they reference where the replacement referees are coming from? Are they going to be somewhat competent tonight/this weekend?

    1 vote
    1. kovboydan
      Link Parent

      Cristian Campo Hernandez will be the center referee for Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake. The Spaniard officiated matches in the second-division USL Championship last year and was previously an NCAA referee. He is also part of the (PRO) talent ID program, the mechanism that PRO uses to identify and develop future MLS referees.

      The assistant referees are Fevzi Demirhan (USL League One, MLS Next Pro) and Albert Escovar (USL Championship, MLS Next Pro).

      2 votes