Photo by ISIphotos.com
Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis went after MLS referees again and will once again pay the price.
MLS has suspended Kreis for two matches and fined him $2,000 for his latest remarks criticizing match officials. Kreis went off about calls made during Real Salt Lake’s 0-0 tie against the Houston Dynamo last Thursday.
"It’s absolutely ridiculous," Kreis told reporters last Thursday. "Every 50/50 call goes against us. Every home match we play, I feel like we’re playing on the road. I’ve had it up to here."
Now Kreis is set to serve his second suspension of the season. He was suspended for one match and fined $1,000 in May after criticizing officials following a 2-2 with Los Angeles.
Here’s the thing. There is certainly some bad officiating in MLS, of that there is no doubt, but Kreis has once again shown his inexperience and some immaturity because of his inability to differentiate between bad officiating and intentionally bad officiating. There is a difference between saying, "the referees missed a lot of calls" and "no calls go our way." Coaches throughout the league manage to bite their tongues (with some occasional slip-ups) when it comes to dealing with terrible calls and referees who make mistakes. All except the least experienced coach in the league.
What do you think of the suspension? Did Kreis deserve it? Was the officiating deserving of that level of criticism? Is Real Salt Lake really not getting any calls or is Kreis way off? Share your thoughts below.
Coaches need to shut up about the refs. Do the refs make mistakes? Do they have some horrible calls? Yes and yes. But the real problem these teams have are their own players. They make terrible decisions and their skills on the ball leave much to be desired. I love the game and I’m a season ticket holder. But come on coaches, worry about finding defenders who can do more than hoof it 40 yards up the field and chop a guy down before you worry about if you’re getting enough 50/50 calls.
I don’t even like Kreis but I take my hat off to him in this case. It’s bad enough we have to tolerate such horrible refereeing in the first place, but it’s even more disgraceful that instead of doing something to improve the situation, MLS just tries to muzzle all criticism of the referees. More coaches need to speak out and defy this absurd behavior by MLS.
I think Kreis has every right to speak that way about the refs when control of the match is lost. I find that it was even for rotection of his own players. The fact that Dwayne De Rosario is able to come over and push Kreis’ player down and get away with no punishment at all is what angers Kreis so much. He doesn’t want his own players to get hurt, and it is the referees job to enforce that. In the case of the RSL-Houston game, every single player on the field was essentially in danger due to the poor quality of the refs.
Thus, I side with Kreis.
Sorry…I made a mistake….Kreis wasn’t in the pressbox (and I don’t think he is allowed to be). He was in a team suite/luxury box.
BTW – here is the link to the article about Kreis sitting in a team suite by choice: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20080516/ai_n25447973
Kreis wasn’t just mad at the red card that occurred in the 89th minute.
1) Up to the 88th minutee: 5 yellows for Houston. 2 arguably should have been straight red cards. RSL had one yellow.
2) 89th minute a scuffle occurs entirely unprovoked by Wingert. DeRo comes up and shoves him as he is crouched over the ball not even looking. DeRo and Wingert get in a shouting match where DeRo pushes him again. Ashe comes storming in as Wingert tries to push back, Wingert is knocked off balance, and what was to be a shove looks like a hit. I don’t think anyone can honestly think Wingert tried to punch DeRo in the face. It would have happened if that were the case. A scuffle ensues. Wingert emerges with a torn shirt and is given a red while only Corey Ashe gets a yellow. That’s complete BS.
3) The ref signals 4 minutes of stoppage, but the red card scuffle didn’t actually subside until about a minute-and-a-half into stoppage time. The ref calls the game at 4 minutes still. Sounds like he just wanted to get the hell out of there.
That’s the second time a game was called early against RSL. The first time it was definitely against RSL’s favor vs. Toronto. This time it may have preserved the tie, because RSL was a man down and on its heels.
RSL also has had 2 game winning goals called back against LA Galaxy and San Jose when they weren’t offsides. I’m not saying that this is an excuse for RSL’s poor record, but to explain the angst.
I think that you are missing one thing – When Kreis is suspended it just means that he can’t be on the sidelines. The last two times he was suspended, he had a front row seat in the pressbox and was in radio communication with the bench (both allowed by the league). After having that view during the first suspension last year, he said (in either the Salt Lake Tribune or the Deseret News) that he actually preferred the angle because it said it let him see the team shape better. Subsequently, he actually sat in the pressbox for the first half of a game this year by choice.
He hasn’t lost anything (other than $2K). And he got his feelings on the record.
the question on the youtube video is who shot it? it looked professional to me, meaning it was probably shot by DCU and broadcast somewhere (like Comcast SportsNet, where I have also seen it) if so, the video belongs to MLS through DCU. if it was from someone’s cell phone, they would have a sketchier claim and would probably let it stay (remember the ugly racist taunt in Columbus the other month? that stayed up)
I was at the game and nearly ran on the field to punch the ref in the face. He had it coming. Jason, and I’m no fan of him, showed great restraint in only saying what he did say. As far as intentional bad reffing, I have been to every game and something is seriously starting to STINK.
William- thanks for the clarification.
@AAron
The issue isn’t really the branding rights, but the right to televise or otherwise broadcast a game involving MLS Teams. MLS retains all rights to such broadcasts, just like any other major sposts league. That’s why you hear announcements during sports telecasts to the effect that “this game is the property of (insert league). any broadcast, retransmission or decsription of this game is forbidden without the express written consent of (insert league here).” So, you are correct, they can pull the YouTube clip with impunity.
It looked like Kreis was protecting his players at the end of the game. You got to respect that.
Come on Ives!
Kreis is the mouth piece to this Mickey Mouse grouping of refs this league has… someone has to speak, whether is intentional or not… incompetence it is.
It’s bs
Dave,
Can you explain your comment a little more please? I’m not familiar with the situation. It would seem reasonable to me that MLS, even though they agree to let their teams participate in Open Cup, still retain any rights over their brand that they don’t specifically cede to US Soccer via contract. Unless MLS signed a contract that basically licensed the use of their brand/teams to US Soccer as a part of their participation in the tournament, then it seems perfectly reasonable to me that MLS should retain the right to pull the plug on youtube videos. Do you know whether the ability to market the MLS teams was included in any agreement with US Soccer regarding MLS clubs?
I’m with Kreis, because the officiating is just SUPER for all the other teams.
Kevin: Don’t you love how MLS can say it has no jurisdiction over U.S. Open Cup matches when it comes to suspending Blanco (which is correct, BTW), then turns around and claims copyright over video of the game to get it taken offline (which is clearly incorrect)? Don’t companies get fined for a blatant DMCA abuse these days?
Between this and the Pat Noonan situation, MLS is becoming a gold standard for hypocrisy.
I saw that RSL – Houston match, and the play Kreis got so angry about was a red card to Chris Wingert. I am a DC United fan and could care less who won, but that was a justifiable red on Wingert. He was out of control. They should have added about 2 minutes more of stoppage time in the match, but how does that help RSL being a man down anyway???
My question is this, if the MLS coaches/GMs/players have a problem with the officiating (which obviously seems to be the case), how are they supposed to get the league to listen. Can they file formal complaints to the league? If so, how much weight would they carry? I think Kreis is right to point out the horrible officiating. I am an RSL fan. I agree with Ives though. I don’t think RSL is targeted by officials, but I think the MLS needs to be aware that the biggest problem by far with this league is the horrible officiating all of the fans and players have to suffer through every single game.
Red cards do not “transfer” between competitions. Blanco was playing in an Open Cup game. He will be suspended but he will be suspended from the next open cup game he is eligible to play in. That will be next year.
@ Phillip
Good idea!!! I too would like to see more “animated” coaches. As a starting point, since he’s already living in the greater Denver area, I suggest that Eric Cartman be named the new coach of the Colorado Rapids. Imagine how attendance would increase on “Chocolate Chicken Pot Pie Night”!
Note to Kreiss…
Its not the refs fault your team sucks after all u coach it!!
Good point, Kpugs. It would be better if the management of all the clubs demanded better. Kreis obviously lost his s*** but he may be right about a bias…not specifically against his club…but against the non-premier clubs in the league.
Suspension fair? nah, because I think a manager/coach should be able to say whatever the hell they want to say outside of the confined of the match itself. As for his going after the ref? perhaps. Thing is, I’m glad Kreis is taking a stand because nobody else seems to be and they sure should.
I’d agree with Kreis a lot more if he didn’t imply that his team is being targeted specifically. MLS referees are god awful, the worst of any league or tournament I’ve seen on the planet (which, granted only includes a few European countries and tourneys that I can get on tv). I think managers in general should get together on this one. It’s obvious so many hate the refereeing. Steve Nichol’s face is purple for every 90 minutes for pete’s sake.
I love the suspend Blanco cry from fans all over the league!!!!!
What’s the matter people?! Can’t deal with ‘Temoc and need the league do it for you?!?!?!
WAH! WAH! WAH! WAH! WAH! WAH!
Do you have your mommies go in and yell at your bosses for being unfair too?
Phillip: You can pay to watch the coaches. I prefer to pay to watch the players. Coaches need to sit down, and shut their yaps.
I agree with Ted that his players will love him for it. He may want to pick his battles a bit more carefully but there is a secondary benefit also. The league needs to take note of the quality of officiating, especially if there may be a bit of bias or even the perception of bias. Houston have become one of the darlings of the league (rightly) and I can see them getting a ManU class benefit of the doubt.
Lastly, if the league does scrutinize the RSL situation more closely, some referees might be cautious about bias against them.
Good move by Kreis all in all and a fair suspension by the league.
Regards,
he has the right to be pissed off…. that game was TERRIBLE…. i agree with alot of the posters so far, that i too enjoy animated coaches….
Kreis did the right thing, he got his players away from the refs and took the problem up himself… thats what a coach needs to do… when you have a coach who cares about his team enough to accept a fine and suspension for stating the truth about bad officiating, then you know the players will be behind him… they’ll work that much harder to get the result… personally i think Kreis is the ideal coach we (MLS) need… outspoken and passionate…
“How can the MLS suspend Blanco . . .”
He represents the league. They pay his salary. Case closed!
I hope he continues only if it builds his team up.
BUT
At some point the officials will band together and “Look the Other Way” to the detriment to RSL.
How can the MLS suspend Blanco for a US Open Cup game? The two are unrelated. Just curious on the thoughts behind this. Is there a precedent?
This is how coaches mature. Some of you may remember the old coach of the Minnesota Vikings – Bud Grant. He was known as one of the most stoic coaches in history. There are videos from when he first arrived in the NFL throwing his headset all over the place, screaming and stomping around. My point is I’m sure Jason will learn to pick his battles.
It may be an immature response and a lack of experience, but I guarantee you the Real Salt Lake players love that their coach is standing up for the team like that.
The suspension comes as no surprise. However, the officiating during the RSL-Houston match last week was beyond terrible. The lead official lost control of that match mid way into the first 45. Look at the bookings from that game, Houston had six yellow’s and RSL had one red and a yellow.
I’m a fan of physical football, but it was obvious that the official of that game was scared to send Houston a man down. Then, towards the end of the match when Wingert threw an elbow or a punch after being heavily provoked by De Rosario, he gets slapped with a red.
The officiating of that match was one of the worst I’ve seen here in Salt Lake over the past three years, and that’s saying a lot. I applauded Kreis when he went after the ref at the end of the game. As a fan, I like his enthusiasm and fire and I think it’s actually helped mold this team into what it is this season. We used to just give up, now days we continue to fight and I think that new level of intensity comes straight from Kreis.
I’ve never seen a team get as many bad calls (or no calls) as Real Salt Lake does. Each game Kreis has spoken out against has been terrible.
I support Kreis.
I want more animated coaches.
And yet they haven’t suspended Blanco yet. Interesting.
By the way, how can MLS pull the video from YouTube if it’s a USSF sanctioned competition? It was not a league sponsored event in any way, other than the fact that two teams were playing in it.