Just days after MLS commissioner Don Garber told The Athletic that the league was “more than prepared to see this all the way through” with replacement referees amid the ongoing lockout of the league’s usual officials, it appears the feelings of at least a few coaches and players have reached a boiling point after a spate of controversial decisions.
In CF Montréal’s 4-3 loss to the Chicago Fire, head coach Laurent Courtois took aim directly at the referees.
“Twenty-two added minutes, red card on the (Chicago) GK that isn’t given… their third goal came from a corner that shouldn’t have been, their first goal was offside,” Courtois said, translated from French. “Something was taken away from my guys.”
This was the potential red card incident Courtois referred to:
Incidence sur le match #CFMTL
Laurent Courtois hier a mentionné une faute du gardien de Chicago Chris Brady passée sous le radar.L’action se passe à la 34:30 du match. Coccaro part seul sur un ballon donné en profondeur par Duke. Le gardien de Chicago fait une intervention… pic.twitter.com/xxYA7tYA7X
— Patrice Bernier (@pbernier10) March 17, 2024
Montréal had been leading 3-1, then Raheem Edwards was sent off for an off-ball incident in which Chicago was awarded a penalty, to bring the game to 3-2. Kellyn Acosta later won the game with a bizarre, wind-assisted goal in stoppage time.
In the LA Galaxy’s 3-3 draw with St. Louis City, Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida put some money on the line in order to weigh in on the general standard of officiating.
“I’m going to get fined,” Yoshida said. “I hope (PSRA) makes a deal with the league as soon as possible. That’s (a) shame. That’s it.”
Head coach Greg Vanney added: “If the standard of a foul is off when you play these teams that are in your face and up your back and grabbing you from behind and doing all that stuff, then it’s going to be tough for the team that wants to have possession and wants to play.”
Charlotte FC, too, felt hard done by refereeing decisions in their loss to Nashville SC. They feel they should have had a penalty that wasn’t awarded.
“Maybe my interpretation is different,” head coach Dean Smith said, “but that’s a stonewall penalty.”
Stonewall pic.twitter.com/kBGLYRMa2J
— Brett (@repiptterb) March 17, 2024
D.C. United head coach Troy Lesesne opted not to risk a fine himself, declining to comment when asked by The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer if the replacement officials impacted the match. But his side argued it should have been given a penalty for a handball by Miami defender Tomas Aviles. It wasn’t given, Miami countered and scored a go-ahead goal in the 72nd minute. Miami went on to win 3-1.
Garber also said of the replacement referees last week that “our players think they’re doing a good job, our coaches think they’re doing a good job.”
The MLS Players’ Association called that quote “grossly inaccurate,” saying “players are very clear that the replacements are under-trained, lack experience and are not nearly at the level that a league of MLS’s stature deserves.”
Of course, officiating controversies are nothing new in MLS (or the sport at large). The league has embraced this talking point, creating a weekly show called “Instant Replay” to go over each match week’s most contentious calls.
However, the league’s players and coaches spent the season’s first few weeks choosing to stay out of the debate around the labor dispute — most notably when Peter Vermes excused a clearly incorrect throw-in decision that directly led to his team dropping two points against the Philadelphia Union.
Whether in part as a reaction to Garber’s wholesale endorsement on their behalf or coincidentally timed, less of those involved with the league’s on-field business seem content to wait out the dispute. —Tom Bogert
More from The Athletic…
Last season, Inter Miami collapsed when Messi’s fitness finally broke. He led Miami’s near-impossible climb from the bottom of the Eastern Conference last summer, but the club sputtered toward a disappointing end of the season when he aggravated his right hamstring — the same one that kept him out of Saturday’s game at D.C. United.
Last year, there wasn’t another player on manager Tata Martino’s bench that could carry the team in Messi’s absence. On Saturday, there was Luis Suarez.
The Uruguayan’s two goals in a span of 13 minutes after entering in the second half broke open a 1-1 deadlock. He started on the bench but Martino went for the three points and sent Suarez onto the pitch to find the winner — an incredible luxury on a sunny MLS Saturday afternoon matchday, even with his history of knee issues.
“The important thing is what we see in him and the confidence he gives us and his teammates,” Martino said of Suarez after the victory. “Obviously externally people will talk (about his fitness and health), and some of those people’s concerns are valid. But those people are not close to the player week to week.”
Suarez’s first goal started with a hard run into the D.C. penalty area, where he met Leo Campana’s slotted cross across the face of the goal. The game’s greats can make the basics look effortless.
Suarez’s second goal was more clever than straightforward. His left-footed curling chip over goalkeeper Alex Bono put the game out of reach.
Suarez’s calculated finish, his fourth goal in five games, was exactly what Inter Miami needed in the midst of Messi’s injury. It also showed that Suarez and Martino know exactly how much the 37-year-old can give at any given moment.
“We’d talked about using him for about 30 minutes and that’s what the game dictated,” Martino said. “It makes me happy because he seems to be feeling better little by little.” – Felipe Cardenas
Pablo Maurer contributed reporting.
Windy City shenanigans
Beyond the refereeing debate, Chicago’s comeback 4-3 win over Montréal was positively bonkers.
Chicago fought back from being down 3-1 after the 80th minute and was still down 3-2 heading into stoppage time. Club-record signing Cuypers got his first goal with the team to make it 3-3 in the 95th minute.
And then, what can you say about this Angels in the Outfield-type goal from Acosta to win DEEEEEP into stoppage time? If you’ve ever wanted to spot a 0.01 xG shot in the wild, this is it — 57.8 meters from goal, with an assist from the Lake Michigan westerlies.
“They don’t call it the Windy City for nothing, I guess,” Fire head coach Frank Klopas said.
“That was pretty epic, pretty crazy,” Acosta added. “I mean, I don’t know what to tell you to be honest. … I had some St. Patrick’s Day luck, the wind was able to take it and for me.”
File this away for October if the playoff race or seeding is determined by a point or two for either of these clubs. — Tom Bogert
Pressure’s off of Cushing, for now
New York City FC manager Nick Cushing’s position is safe, for now, as NYCFC avoided an 0-0-4 start on Saturday night with a 2-1 over Toronto FC. With City Football Group surely watching closely, Cushing pushed the right buttons in a must-win game for him and his staff. The 2021 MLS Cup champions had looked uninspired and unimaginative to start the year, scoring just one goal in their first three matches this season, which is a worrying trend following 2023’s 9-14-11 season. Cushing, 39, replaced Ronny Deila in 2022, an internal hire that is slowly losing its appeal.
That tension hovered over Yankee Stadium throughout the night, reaching its crescendo early in the first half when Toronto took a seventh-minute lead through Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty. It felt like another disappointing result was inevitable. Santiago Rodriguez’s brilliant set-piece equalizer in the 24th minute swung the momentum back New York’s way.
Set piece stunner from Santi Rodríguez 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/3mPgSZKQ9c
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 17, 2024
Cushing let the adrenaline get the better of him. Cameras caught the English manager in a staredown with Toronto playmaker Lorenzo Insigne as the teams walked off the pitch at halftime.
Tempers flare between NYCFC and Toronto as the two teams head into halftime.
Looks like Lorenzo Insigne and Nick Cushing having words. Then Deybi Flores comes over with a light push on Cushing. pic.twitter.com/62fU5F0Qmm
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) March 17, 2024
NYCFC went on to take the lead in the 65th minute, but three minutes later, central midfielder Keaton Parks was sent off for a dangerous stud-up stomp on Toronto’s Kobe Franklin.
Cushing’s side didn’t fall apart, though. Instead, they held on for the win in desperate fashion. It’s early in the MLS season, but a fourth straight loss would’ve been difficult for Cushing and NYCFC to spin. – Felipe Cárdenas
Ramsay in, Loons win
When Minnesota United hired Eric Ramsay away from Manchester United, Red Devils fans coped with the departure by questioning his set-piece coaching. The 32-year-old was originally added to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s staff to specialize in dead-ball situations, eventually growing his role into a more holistic one under Ralf Rangnick and Erik Ten Hag.
After just four days of training with his new team, Ramsay was on the touchline in Saint Paul as the Loons welcomed Los Angeles FC to Allianz Field. In the 16th minute, Minnesota had a free kick near the left sideline about 35 yards from Hugo Lloris’ goal. Sang-Bin Jeong sent in a looping inswinger to the heart of the mixer, which Jesús Murillo headed directly to Robin Lod’s feet to open the team’s scoring account under their second-ever MLS head coach.
Was this an early sign that the Loons are suddenly going to become the league’s set-piece savants? Not necessarily. After his introductory press conference on Wednesday, The Athletic asked Ramsay for his origins of taking interest in the routines — seemingly, it was an advantage for his coaching locker but not one he came to love.
“Admittedly, it doesn’t get me really excited as a coach,” Ramsay said. “I don’t think it gets lots of coaches very excited. It’s not something that players get particularly excited about, but it is an undeniable difference maker. I’ve been fortunate that a sliver of my role at Man United was geared toward set plays. I was able to look at it in real detail over a long period. So I’m fortunate I can take that into the role I have now and be able to draw on that experience.”
In the 88th minute, Minnesota got its insurance goal for their sweater-clad manager, with a miscue by LAFC’s defense gifting Bongi Hlongwane a trickling ball beyond the back line to run onto and place behind the World Cup winner.
GO DEEPER
MLS’ youngest head coach Eric Ramsay on leaving Man United for Minnesota
The win resulted in Minnesota ending Saturday night atop the Western Conference with 10 points through four games. Among those are three results against some of last season’s best sides: a comeback draw against defending champion Columbus, a late winner away at Orlando, and now a win over the two-time Western champs.
On Wednesday, people throughout Minnesota was quick to assure The Athletic the club was ready to go through some transition pains as the team gets used to Ramsay’s management after a full preseason under interim leadership. The underlying numbers suggest the wins against Orlando and LAFC didn’t quite match the result, specifically in terms of chances created; if there’s regression to be had, it’ll come in those conversion rates.
Seemingly, however, the players will need little time to buy into their new boss’ vision. It’s made for one of the feel-good stories of the young MLS season: a truly emergent team playing with newfound freedom and, seemingly, enjoying every minute. – Jeff Rueter
(Top photos: Megan Briggs/Getty Images; Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)