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PRO announces referee assignments for MLS opening weekend

Hilario Grajda,George Gansner,Paul Scott,Mark Declouet.

Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Eleven days are all that separate us from the start of the 2014 MLS season, and now we know who will be officiating the opening matches.

Professional Referee Organization (PRO) announced on Tuesday the referee crews in charge of the opening eight matches of the MLS campaign. Veteran official Mark Geiger has been appointed the man in charge of the season opener between the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field, and Hilario Grajeda has been assigned the mouth-watering Portland Timbers-Philadelphia Union clash at Providence Park.

Some of the officials in charge of matches include Ismail Elfath (Houston Dynamo-New England Revolution), Silviu Petrescu (LA Galaxy-Real Salt Lake) and Edvin Jurisevic (FC Dallas-Montreal Impact).

Here is the complete list of the officiating crews for MLS’s opening weekend:

03/08/2014

Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution

BBVA Compass Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: ISMAIL ELFATH

AR1: George Gansner

AR2: Mark Cahen

4TH: Jair Marrufo

Vancouver Whitecaps vs New York Red Bulls

BC Place (7:30 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: ALLEN CHAPMAN

AR1: Adam Garner

AR2: Jeremy Hanson

4TH: Younes Marrakchi

Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting Kansas City

CenturyLink Field (3:00 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: MARK GEIGER

AR1: Sean Hurd

AR2: Frank Anderson

4TH: Tyler Ploeger

Portland Timbers vs. Philadelphia Union

Providence Park (10:30 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: HILARIO GRAJEDA

AR1: Ian Anderson

AR2: Baboucarr Jallow

4TH: Baldomero Toledo

D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew

RFK Stadium (7:00 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: DREW FISCHER

AR1: Adam Wienckowski

AR2: Gregory Barkey

4TH: Robert Sibiga

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake

StubHub Center (10:30 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: SILVIU PETRESCU

AR1: Daniel Belleau

AR2: Phil Briere

4TH: Mathieu Bourdeau

FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact

Toyota Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET)

REFEREE: EDVIN JURISEVIC

AR1: Corey Rockwell

AR2: CJ Morgante

4TH: Mark Kadlecik

03/09/2014

Chivas USA vs. Chicago Fire

StubHub Center (3:00 p.m. ET)

REFEREEE: JUAN GUZMAN

AR1: Peter Manikowski

AR2: Mike Rottersman

4TH: Kevin Stott

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What do you think of PRO’s referee assignments for opening weekend? Happy with who was appointed for your club’s game? Cursing your club’s luck?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It would be great if there was a reliable news source on referees. If anyone can recommend one, I’m all ears. And please don’t refer anyone to the PRO referee website – they’re as opaque as Fifa.

    Reply
  2. does not necessarily mean the Professional Soccer Referee Association will go on strike but does signify membership unity ahead of two negotiating sessions in the next 10 days.

    Reply
    • funny, I opened this story specifically to look and see if he was refereeing. In fact, he’s the only MLS referee name that I know. And when you know a referee’s name, that’s usually not a good sign…

      Reply

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