Overview:
As usual, the abuse of referees remained a big part of officiating news in 2023.
As usual, the abuse of referees remained a big part of soccer officiating news in 2023, with December bringing the awful scenes of Halil Umut Meler getting punched in the face by Turkish club Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca and receiving more blows while on the ground. On our shores, an off-duty police sergeant was arrested in Florida for smacking the whistle out of a ref’s mouth with a punch during a youth game, just one of the far too many appalling examples of the behavior contributing to the referee shortage.
And one need only tune into any major league worldwide to witness the constant ref-mobbing by the stars who normalize such behavior for the youth players we ref on weekends. The several “mass confrontation” incidents during MLS Cup 2023 demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the league’s warnings and fines of undisclosed amounts. The futility of issuing fines — instead of demanding the on-field disciplining outlined by the “Laws of the Game” — can be comprehended by doing the math on the English Premier League’s recent $150,000 fine for Manchester City (sans suspensions) for its mobbing of referee Simon Hooper.
One of the players involved, Erling Haaland, earns $25 million a year playing for a club with $900 million in revenue annually. A $150,000 fine for Man City barely rises to a “slap on the wrist.”
But as the year ends, the U.S. refereeing community can look back on the positives.
1. Tori Penso: American refs at world championships
In August, Tori Penso whistled Spain’s 1-0 win over England in the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, becoming the first American to referee a World Cup final. She was assisted by Americans Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt, while Armando Villarreal worked in the VAR booth. In December, Penso and ARs Mayo and Nesbitt officiated the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup opener, in front of 50,248 fans in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the tournament’s third-place game.
2. Armando Villarreal — and media attention
The first-generation Mexican-American started reffing in his father’s Brownsville, Texas, rec league. This year Villarreal (photos above) reffed his second MLS Cup, after serving at this year’s Women’s World Cup and last year’s men’s World Cup. His 2023 MLS Cup work was the focus of Pablo Maurer’s detailed behind-the-scenes article in The Athletic: ‘I have to set the tone’: Behind the scenes with the MLS Cup officiating crew.” Maurer delivered a rarity in sports media: humanizing the work of those who do the sport’s most difficult work.
3. MLS’s Matt Miazga response
While MLS’s attempt to address “mass confrontation” has continued to fall short, its response to FC Cincinnati Matt Miazga, the 2023 league Defender of the Year, entering the referees’ locker room postgame was the kind that does serve as an effective deterrence. Miazga received a three-game suspension, which kept him out of his team’s loss to Columbus for a spot in MLS Cup 2023.
4. U.S. Soccer Initiatives
The USA’s governing body, through its “Innovate to Grow” grants, is supporting state associations in their referee recruitment and retainment programs. Among the examples are Iowa Soccer’s no-cost pilot program for 12- to 14-year-olds, which was sparked by a nearly 50 percent decline in youth officials in five years, and Cal South’s “I Did It, So Can You!” program, which focuses on recruiting female refs. U.S. Soccer also hired Shari Summers, whose role as Chief Soccer Growth Officer includes fostering refereeing programs. Also, U.S. Soccer included in its “five-pillar strategy” an accelerated initiative with a focus on more partnerships with the referee community.
5. Christina Unkel: Ref advocate and rule-educator
Former FIFA referee Christina Unkel through social media and TV commentary influence has become a crucial force — joining Joe Machnik — in educating the soccer public on the intricacies of referee decision-making and explaining the rules — which even pro players aren’t required to learn.
6. MLS Next Pro: ‘Testing ground for ideas’
While soccer’s rule-making body, IFAB, responds at a snail’s pace to improving the sport — including moves to protect referees — MLS Next Pro has provided the ‘testing ground for ideas’ that its president, Charles Altchek, promised it wouldupon its launch in 2022. Two of its experiments conducted over a year and a half will be adopted by MLS in 2024: the timed substitution and off-field treatment rules.
Both prevent time-wasting and both provide referees with solutions to challenges IFAB’s “Laws of the Game” didn’t address with precision.
IFAB in November said once again it aimed to “improve participant behavior.” Its announcement, accompanied by a photo of the kind of ref-mobbing it said it would clamp down on six years ago — revealed merely that it was “approving trials.” These would be the use of temporary dismissals (sin bins), which would add to the refs’ tools for punishing dissent, and banning all but captains from approaching the referee.
MLS Next Pro’s implementation of rule tests and the precision with which it tracked their effect on the game makes the league perfect for conducting the trials IFAB requires before taking action.
MLS Next Pro might just be the best hope for referee progress.
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SA Ref Coverage Highlights 2023
1. Violence against referees — FIFA and Collina must act now
3. For coaches and refs: Maintain composure. Don’t condescend.
4. Iowa Soccer innovates approach to training young refs
5. Rule-makers to tackle the dissent problem? We’ve heard that before.
6. Christina Unkel: Ref, lawyer and broadcaster moves into club presidency
7. Referees deserve better from TV commentators
8. Teenage job quests led Tori Penso and Katja Koroleva to World Cup
9. Players, coaches, parents: turn down the volume, or shut up
10. What is the ‘spirit’ of soccer? And where can I find it?
