Major League Soccer – “Major” Is Merely Fantasy Until The Officiating Improves

Don Garber
Commissioner
Major League Soccer
New York, NY

Mr. Garber:

I’ve been a fan of MLS for some years now, particularly since my hometown Portland Timbers joined the league in 2011. I’ve watched with some pride as an American league slowly takes its place as a growing force in the soccer world. While that’s certainly cause for feeling no small amount of pride, it’s unfortunately not why I’m writing today.

This past Sunday, I watched as my Timbers lost to Orlando City FC 2-0 at Providence Park. The loss was distressing, but in all honesty, the Timbers played a miserable first half and could never get organized enough to mount consistent pressure. Full credit to Orlando City for that. They were the better side on the day.

While I was disappointed by the Timbers’ poor showing, my real problem was with the officiating. In a league known for astonishingly poor officiating, the work done by the referee in this game was execrable. I’ll leave his name out of it because his poor showing is but one of many unacceptable performances I’ve witnessed. What I saw Sunday was Orlando City FC, a surprisingly talented side for an expansion franchise, playing a game that bordered on dirty. The game featured City players clutching, grabbing, body checking, and in some cases even tackling Timbers players a la American football. It was a pathetically cynical performance by City’s players…but even worse was the fact that the referee allowed this misbehavior to continue virtually unabated for 90 minutes. It was a shoddy, truly inexcusable performance by a referee in a sport that calls itself “major league”…though that appellation could reasonably be a matter of some debate.

I suppose you could write off my comments as sour grapes, the partisan rants of a fan whose team lost. Here’s the thing, though: Portland didn’t deserve to win the game. That’s not my complaint. I’m tired of watching games officiated by referees who lose control of a game early and don’t allow it to develop any sort of rhythm. Too many MLS games devolve into 90 minutes of overtly physical tripping, grabbing, and body checking. I watch a lot of soccer at a number of levels, in person and on television, and from where I sit it’s no exaggeration to contend that MLS officiating is some of the worst in the game. Then again, if you’re trying to promote a game which resembles roller derby more closely than the game the rest of the world knows as “football,” than bravo; your work here is done.

I recognize and understand that MLS doesn’t have the profile or resources to attract the best officials in the world…but it shouldn’t be too much to expect consistency, fairness, and a feel for how a game is developing. Given that MLS’ subpar officiating is tarnishing the product on the field, referring to your league as Major League Soccer seems cynically self-congratulatory. There is nothing major league about the state of MLS officiating. Until that problem is addressed, the MLS game will continue to too often resemble hockey in soccer boots.

Now in its 20th season, MLS has serious potential- perhaps not in the sense that the league’s popularity will rival La Liga or the Barclays Premier League, but a growing number of people in this country take MLS seriously. That wasn’t true just a few short years ago. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to see the progress MLS had made continuing unless you address the subpar quality of MLS officials.

It’s time that MLS addressed improving the quality of the product on the field by improving the officiating. The talent the league has attracted needs to be allowed to rise to the top. Currently, that talent is more often than not beaten into submission by midfielders and defenders whose only hope is to trip it or run it over. Watch an MLS game, and it quickly becomes clear that at most referees are in over their heads. This doesn’t need to be the case, and if you have any hope of growing “the beautiful game” that MLS could be, the body checking and physical abuse needs to be reined in. MLS has little hope of growing into its potential until the league finds, trains, and PAYS for top-flight officiating. It’s the difference between a game where talent comes to the fore and a Saturday night beer league in the Bronx.

Your move, Commissioner.

Sincerely,

A concerned MLS fan