Not just the Referee, who had only had 17 prior *professional* matches under his belt - 9 USL matches, 1 MLS Next, 3 Open Cup matches (very much doubt at MLS level), 2 USL cup, and 2 NWSL...NOT the place to have somebody make their top-level debut, and hopefully the last MLS match they officiate, but a complete absence of VAR, which did take effect starting in the quarterfinals.
Both penalties were light but properly given, so no issues there, though the home crowd wasn't having it. Quakes players will just have to learn not to stab in once the opposition is in their 18.
The two big ones:
- a horrific challenge on Cristian Espinoza opening up a two inch gash running parallel to his knee which should have been a sendoff.
- Brad Stuver was completely off his line when Chicho Arango's penalty was taken
Foul recognition, persistent infringement handling and game management in general were beyond subpar, resulting in a game with little in the way of any rhythm.
Anything struck you as odd about the officiating in the SJE vs ATX match?
Let's just say that particular Referee was not good.
Not just the Referee, who had only had 17 prior *professional* matches under his belt - 9 USL matches, 1 MLS Next, 3 Open Cup matches (very much doubt at MLS level), 2 USL cup, and 2 NWSL...NOT the place to have somebody make their top-level debut, and hopefully the last MLS match they officiate, but a complete absence of VAR, which did take effect starting in the quarterfinals.
Both penalties were light but properly given, so no issues there, though the home crowd wasn't having it. Quakes players will just have to learn not to stab in once the opposition is in their 18.
The two big ones:
- a horrific challenge on Cristian Espinoza opening up a two inch gash running parallel to his knee which should have been a sendoff.
- Brad Stuver was completely off his line when Chicho Arango's penalty was taken
Foul recognition, persistent infringement handling and game management in general were beyond subpar, resulting in a game with little in the way of any rhythm.