Seattle coach Sigi Schmid, who said after the match he has a history from his college coaching days with Weyland, sought out the referee on the field and read him the riot act. In post match comments, Schmid accused the officials of inequities and said he was "disappointed in the refereeing."
MLS executive vice president Todd Durbin said that Weyland is “an experienced official who didn’t have his best day”. That is telling that the word they use is experienced rather than a good official.
Despite the complaining about officials, all fans would rather talk about the game than the officials. For my money, Weyland, and officials like him, ruin that for the fans, players, and coaches. Too much of the attention is taken away from the match and focused on the one person that is there to make sure it is played fairly.
Officials of all sports have a very tough job and must do it for the love of the game to put up with the abuse they take. That does not excuse them when they are not having “their best day” though. Even on a bad day, the game is supposed to be about the two teams, not the official.
It was a shame really. Despite the brutish physicality and packed defense displayed by the Galaxy, the match showed a lot of promise. Maybe next time, when the two teams hook up in LA, we can see if the beautiful game will be allowed to make an appearance.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Sounds like the MLS borrowed refs from the NBA for a weekend.
2 - Jordan Richardson
Or the Chicago vs. Vancouver playoff series. Yeesh.
3 - Douglas Mays
Yeah, I was at that match. Out of control... LA just played for a tie.
4 - Douglas Mays
Casey Keller had a good comment after the game. He said that in Europe the referee is trying to keep players in the game. In the MLS they are trying to kick them out.