If you stayed up to watch the Chicago Fire-Chivas USA match you saw a match marred by a boat-load of yellow cards (ten to be exact), a red card and three penalty kicks, the last of which left many observers wondering just what Terry Vaughn was thinking.
If you haven't seen the replay of the penalty that helped Chicago pull out a 3-2 victory on Thursday night, here it is:
As you might imagine, Chivas USA head coach Preki wasn't too happy with that call (or the referee's performance in general).
"That's nuts. That's like a comedy hour," Chivas coach Preki told The Daily Breeze. "It's a soft call. There was very minimal contact and in my opinion, McBride dove."
When the 5-foot-7, 150 pound Mariano Trujillo appeared to make contact with the 6-foot, 175 pound Brian McBride as both prepared to challenge for a long ball, McBride fell in a heap, prompting the penalty call from Vaughn. After the match, Trujillo still couldn't make sense of the call.
"I'm pretty sure (McBride dove)," Trujillo told MLSNet.com. "I just touched him. It's impossible. Look at me. Even if I push him it's hard."
Preki didn't mince words about the officiating, providing a rant that is sure to earn him a fine from MLS officials who are making a decent amount of money off fines for criticizing referees this season.
"Some of those calls out there were so ridiculous that I don't even know what to say," Preki told MLSnet.com. "The referees that have been successful this year have let the game go. And the ones that have been completely unsuccessful have tried to keep it too tight.
"I don't know what's being told to them, I don't know how they think games should go, but the bottom line is games that have had more freedom and haven't had as many fouls called have been better games. Tonight he lost control of the game, early on. Early, early, early on."
What did you think of that last penalty call? Cast your vote:
Which did you chose? What did you think of Terry Vaughn's performance overall? Did he mar a well-officiated match with a bad call? Was he bad all night? Did he call a good match?
Share your thoughts below.
Chivas are dead last in the league in the fair play table, meaning they play dirty. No wonder Preki wants them to not call anything.
The replay angle sucks, but Vaughn had a great view, and he seemed damn sure that it was a foul, almost laughing at some of the players claiming it wasn’t.
McBride was absolutely slammed 2 times in the first half in the box… headlock hipcheck body slam. It was insane that no penalty was given for those.
I foul is a foul. If all the refs called a tighter game, the players would actually have to play soccer, and our stars could play the beautiful game instead of just trying to avoid getting dragged down by defenders who only know how to grab just enough w/o getting a foul called.
that was ugly
It’s nice to see all of these comments. But the problem is that MLS is becoming a joke. The refereeing, the play, the complaining, the yelling. What a bunch of babies.
I am very close with not bothering to watch MLS games or even attend a few this year. Sad. Really sad.
Vaughng is a horrible ref…
Terry V. is a clown with a whistle
Lets get this out the way: I’m a Fire fan. I probably would not have called it a PK if were reffing. I do not think McB went down too easily as to qualify as a dive. But, we probably deserved a draw.
That being said, I think we can all agree that what comes around goes around (whether its luck or karma, and I hope you appreciate the difference between the two). Every team is going to have a game or two each season where, despite playing well, the calls or the breaks go to the other team. Last night’s game went for the Fire and, undoubtedly, a game down the road will go against them. Posts on each side (arguing that any contact in box = PK and that the contact was too weak) have their points. This was a close call. This is my main point: in the immortal words of Herm Edwards, “you play to win the game.” I don’t think it was a dive, and do think there was contact. Enough contact to send him to the ground? The ref had a better look. I don’t know and neither do you, so let’s move on.
Allegations that there is impropriety (e.g. match-fixing) are ridiculous. You know it is. And the suggestion that this reflects on everyone in Chicago/Illinois is downright stupid. You don’t understand what you’re talking about.
This ref sucks and so do many others in MLS. I think the suggestion made by a previous poster about bringing in international refs is the best way to go. Just as you make your top players sweat by giving them some competition for their starting spots, I would like to see MLS bring in more experienced refs, or hold clinicals for our refs.
I love the Fire and I really want to see MLS become a serious league in the world. The level of play and passion of the game last night can accomplish that.
Addage – and how many red cards have been distributed around the league???
Padula for intent (and blanco’s acting job)
Montero for the elbow to face
Marsh for 2 poor tackles
simply looking at the numbers without looking at the actions seems folly
How many games has Chicago finished a man up? I’ve seen 3 I think.
I watched from start to finish Best game so far this season, I really like how chivas moves the ball but the fire have got that grittiness to them that they won’t stop. Everyone is talking about the PK’s I thought terry vaughn was good last night. The cards I felt we’re because of the players in ability to show up the referee at every chance, I mean all the complaining is ridiculous and I don’t blame him at all theres only so many times you can tell guys to walk away then they keep cursing at you, each card was deserved in my eyes. But a point I like to make is that the PK dosen’t happen if atiba harris gets off the field in a timely matter and dosen’t try to stop the game and if Zah thorton plays the ball too someone instead of just booting it back up field.
Yep, us for over in Chicago paid off the refs with Blanco jerseys. The MLS office and the Fire front office got together to plan this all out. I mean we can barely fill our stadium but with Andrew “Big Bucks” Hauptman making it rain it was bound to happen.
For the Dallas game here is how it’s going to play out…
Cooper will be given a red card in the 10th minute for sneezing.
14 yellow cards will be given three of which will be towards the Fire.
Fire win 8-1. Seven which are from PK’s
guess who is the ref…
You guys win the intranet. CONGRATS!!!!
Very bad refereeing job. Vaughn made some correct calls and some terrible calls. Inconsistent basically.
To me the last penalty looks very soft. Looks like Trujillo is barely touching McBride. Didn’t even look like they were close enough together for McBride to be pushed hard enough to go down like he did.
Anyone who thinks they are fixing games for the Fire are pure idiots , where was the fixing when the Fire had 6 ties?
The Fire does not need anyone to fix games for them, they have the best team in the league with the deepest bench.
I love reading to comments of all the jealous people.
The final PK call was a bad call by a bad referee….period.
No conspiracy, no bias, no insane plot as insinuated by morons like Trent.
Terry Vaugh sucks, as a Fire fan I recall a game in LA where Vaugh gifted LA with two terrible PK calls resulting in a 2-1 Galaxy win.
I also did not see Vaugh wrestling the kid in the first row for that oh-so-valuable Blanco jersey that is worth throwing your career away for. 🙂
No way to tell from that video and I have yet to see the play from a decent angle. But in the refs defense…those two teams had very little interest in playing soccer last night, there was not a lot for him to do. The first yellow of the night was a little soft, but at some point the players have to stop being dumbasses and get on with the game.
i sure wish someone would have told me that drawing 5 games in a row is being ‘gifted games’. grow up.
if you’re gonna play like thugs, be ready to be disciplined like thugs. sorry you got caught. sorry the tilt didn’t go your way this time. no wait, i’m not sorry at all. tough luck suckers.
For now I’m willing to accept the PK at the end as a make-up call for the backpass to Thorton that he picked up. I remember thinking…”wasn’t that a backpass?” but when it didn’t get called I assumed the Fire player got a touch on it or something. I’ve never seen a replay of that incident so I can’t be sure, but for now, that’s what I’ll go with.
Has anybody taken a look at the Fair Play table? Chivas USA is last.
No surprise that Chivas gets bounced from the playoffs every year by “lesser” teams.
I think the McBride penalty kick was a make-up call for the body slams the first half and the backpass non-call just prior to the penalty. That should have been an indirect free kick in the box.
Its a conspiracy!!!
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8900/conspiracy.jpg
terrible call, stayed awake to watch the game end like that sucked.
Steve – lol, has fire moved into most hated team in MLS yet?? if so do we get a trophy or a medal of some form?? it would look nice next to the other hardware in our case 😀
Ives- where is the vote slot on the poll for bad clip?
Joking, but it was a terrible clip.
I wasn’t sure how good the Fire were yet but apparently they’re pretty good ‘cuz the folks in ohio and jersey have developed a bit of a complex about ’em.
I like it!
Just think of the ridiculous accusations that’ll be flying after we beat Dallas Sunday to go 12 gamas unbeaten…….
Saw the game and the incident multiple times at different angles.
As a McBride fan, i am ashamed of me Captain America. Like many of you, diving and McBride sounds a little weird when used in the same sentence. But as amny times as I tried to ignorantly justify McBride’s innocence with his rep like many have done, the less i was convinced as i watched replay after replay. We all know McBride is a big presence and is no way easy to knock down. Trujillo did push McBride’s back but its one of those pushes where you try to get in better position and not knock him down. Yet before Trujillo could put more force into the push, McBride fell like a ton of bricks right when he felt Trujillo’s hands on his back. MCBRIDE COULD HAVE EASILY SHRUGGED HIM OFF!! HE DOVE.
If McBride does this again, i will refuse to support him again. Im sure he is picking these things up from Blanco :]
Fulham Pete- “Sometimes blaming the ref is easier than blaming all the players”
always a scape goat…. with the USMN its ALWAYS BB, not the players….
Refs will always make bad calls, sometimes they have more good then bad… but people always seem to deem the game on 1 or 2 bad calls, despite the numerous good ones they made….
Kip – “Only time you come on here is when you feel like you have to defend the Fire. And when someone has a different view than you you alway throw out the “come off your high horse”
lol, apparently im also here to wind up the redbull fans, or so ive been tagged… i post on what i find relevant…. MLS and USMN… i dont follow Euro leagues all that closely… so i dont partake and clutter up all the other threads when i dont have a solid opinion on a subject…
i said you need to come off your high horse for taking that comment seriously… honestly no one except arsenal fans actually attempt to claim the Cup at the beginning 1/3 of the season…
i have defended my case with solid points… i have explained why i felt the way i do… while im a fire fan, i will tell it like it is… there is no denying Baky’s PK… there is no denying Thor’s red against Redbulls… there is no denying that Busch is not the same GK’er he was last season, and for that matter neither is our defense….
Kip – 1) again, the intent may not have been malicious, but the cleat was up and could have cause an injury if actually connected… hence the card…. altho i already admitted that Blanco sold the crap out of it… this is not a question of the ref making a bad call but of blanco and his antics …. it was a dangerous play along with the acting style of blanco equals red card… how is this even debatable…
2) yes elbows occur often, some are caught and some are not… some are yellowed, and some are red…. i have stated i would have given it a yellow, but im not ref… it wasnt malicious (IMO) but apparently to the ref it was worth the red, b/c there was no hesitation…
3) i am saying there was a push… i have ALSO stated its possible that it was embellished… there is no real way to determine it…. fact remains it was a push in the box… again, how is this debatable
you conspiracy theorists need to accept the fact that this league is not profitable nor popular enough to pull off a series of ref bribing…
Great dive, and thats part of the game. Take an advantage to win the game. Kudos McBride.
Chicas…I like that.
Marsch needs to start acting like a team captain and stop running his mouth to the ref about every foul called against his team. Does he really think his team NEVER commits fouls or is he just that ignorant? And this is coming from a super foul machine that he is. I love watching Chicas play the Galaxy because I know there is always a chance of catching a UFC style fight along with the game. As someone mentioned earlier in the posts, I find it hilarious Preki will complain about stupid fouls called against his team, but when his team is benefiting from calls like that he is happy. Refs will never be perfect and will make stupid calls more often than not. I am not defending the refs, just stating an obvious fact that happens in all sports (anyone remember the call Ed Hochuli made in the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers game?).
I watched the game in it’s entirety. It would seem to me that with all the yellow flying around, Trujillo would think that even the slightest push might get called. A foul at midfield = a foul in the box. Penalty. Besides, I think Vaughn might have a better angle than all of us watching on TV, but from what I saw, both of Trujillo’s arms were extended on McBride’s back. Penalty.
Sometimes blaming the ref is easier than blaming all the players. This was a rough, chippy game, and the players weren’t responding to the ref’s discipline.
Penalty.
Come off of my high horse? How original.
Only time you come on here is when you feel like you have to defend the Fire. And when someone has a different view than you you alway throw out the “come off your high horse.
What a bunch of crap. Take off the blinders.
Even if Chicago manages to win something this year (which I doubt), it would probably be taken away anyway after an investigation (see Juventus).
Hold on. Intent? Really? You think Padula had intent? You could tell that how besides being blinded by being a Fire fan? All you can clearly say about that play was stud out and that is not nearly enough to warrant a red in any other league besides this pathetic one without more contact and less acting. Anything else that you can conclude is just blatant love for your team blinding your ability to be rational. What a homer response to what is clearly a legitimate horrible call. Game changing call that went the Fire’s direction number 1.
And again on the call last night. Really? He pushed him? You are clearly sure about that to be making a statement like that but it wasn’t clear no matter what angle you watch that from unless you are a Fire fan. I can tell his hands were up and on McBride’s back. I don’t see anything that “clearly” says he pushed him. And again, of course you wouldn’t throw in the fact of what point of the game it was in. IT HAS TO BE CLEAR TO MAKE THAT CALL IN THAT POSITION or you will be scrutinized as a ref, and it was not clear to anyone except Fire fans who are enjoying calls going their way. There’s a suprise. Truly game changing unclear call that went the Fire’s way #2.
Elbows have been flying around the league all year, as a Crew fan just ask Chad Marshall who has taken several elbows to the head and gotten few calls let alone many cards thrown the way of the guys sending the blows his way. You even admit a yellow was more warranted in that situation. Again, ask Chad for yourself if IN THE MLS a red has been given this year for elbows to the head. Not so clear but questionable call #3 that change the game for the Fire #3.
So there you have it. 3 calls that can be disputed in, what, 11 games. Yeah, I would consider that suspicious considering we are only slightly over the 1/3 of the season mark.
You can’t even give me that crap. Try again.
Terry Vaugh – thats all that needs to be said. I do not know any refs by name except this guy. He is consistently BAD, and my concern is that CONCACAF calls him up to ref in qualifying matches (He had a couple of very bad calls, including a penalty, on Costa Rica vs. Mexico qualifier). This guy should NOT be allowed to ref ANY soccer games EVER. I did not see the play last night that resulted in the penalty but I am confident that Terry Vaughn did NOT make the right call!!
Kip- “Awww isn’t that cute, another dillusional Fire fan. Aren’t they just everywhere today? Even coming out of the woodwork to defend their team”
so when people throw insane accusations around, we should just turn the cheek?? personally i enjoy a good debate, so ill keep posting 😀
“and throw out phrases like “eventual MLS Cup Champs” on May 29th.”
come off your high horse… people post this all the time when they have a good team, but most are not (fully) serious about it…. obvious we all know alot can change from now til november… and even if we continue form, doesnt mean we’ll be MLS cup champs (see DCU’s SS winning season in 07′ just to lose to the Fire in the 1st round)
Kevin – “Hey Civas, what was you excuse when you blew a 2 goal lead to DC United a couple weeks ago>”
i think they were arguing that Moreno was in an offsides position on Pontius’s goalO.o
Kip – bad calls?? the entire league is witnessing bad calls…. good lord
i have acknowledged on MANY posts in MANY websites that the refs have been bad this season…
you point out bad calls and ill argue my opinion…. no different then anyone else
padula (sp?) went cleats up against blanco… yes the contact was minimal and blanco sold it better then most in Sales, but the INTENT was present… this happens in every league around the world… attempting to prevent the worst….
Montero elbowed Sega in the face… while not malicious and should have been a yellow IMO, a red isnt out of the ordinary for such a hit…
BMB was shoved from behind… plain n’ simple… how hard was the push?? did BMB dive?? was he slightly off balance and the push was enough to make him fall?? these are things that cannot be answered… what can be answered is that he was shoved in the box and the ref noticed it…
feel free to provide more…
“Hey Willardo, whine about this. The Fire is still undefeated and look to be the eventually MLS champions.
Posted by: Kevin | May 29, 2009 at 01:36 PM ”
Awww isn’t that cute, another dillusional Fire fan. Aren’t they just everywhere today? Even coming out of the woodwork to defend their team and throw out phrases like “eventual MLS Cup Champs” on May 29th.
Hey Willardo, whine about this. The Fire is still undefeated and look to be the eventually MLS champions.
What a bunch of whiners Chivas are, I do not see them saying it was a bad call on the penalty that Soumare was given.
If Thorrinton and Mcbride convert sure goals in the first half , Chivas gets blown out. Chivas is a good team , but the Fire showed they are the better team.
Hey Civas, what was you excuse when you blew a 2 goal lead to DC United a couple weeks ago>
“It don’t matter. He was fouled in the box. That’s the ONLY criteria to be used in awarding a PK.
Did the guy Soumary fouled in the box have a chance at scoring? None. But it was a foul.
McBride could’ve had his back to the play looking at the Chivas girls on the sidelines and if someone pushed him to try get a better view, it’s a PK.
Posted by: krolpolski | May 29, 2009 at 01:27 PM ”
Really? You can say without a shadow of a doubt ( take of the Fire colored glasses and be objective for a moment. Yes I know that is asking a lot) that that was a foul? Really?
I bet even McBride would admit (in private of course never in public) that that was seriously embellished, see his interview at the end of the game for any clue about that. Contact does not equal a foul and either does a player just having his hands on a players back.
Watching it last night carefully on my HD DVR it looked to me from at least one angle that Trujillo pushed McBride pretty hard. I thought it was a legit PK. So did McBride, given his comments in the post-game interview with Allen Hopkins.
Hey Brett, instead of telling people to grow up maybe you should stop making excuses for your team and look in the mirror.
To me this incident in completely different than the Columbus incident, but there should be no denying (unless of course you are a Fire fan blinded by your loyalty to your club, which you are) that Chicago is getting blatant bad calls called for them this year, and you are finding yourself defending this crap more and more as a fan. It is very much human nature for fans of other teams to suspect things when incident’s (sp?) like this occur.
Just saying.
KCB wrote: “McBride had no chance, NO CHANCE, of getting to that ball.”
It don’t matter. He was fouled in the box. That’s the ONLY criteria to be used in awarding a PK.
Did the guy Soumary fouled in the box have a chance at scoring? None. But it was a foul.
McBride could’ve had his back to the play looking at the Chivas girls on the sidelines and if someone pushed him to try get a better view, it’s a PK.
Trent – or perhaps people want to come to ridiculous accusations…
where is the money coming from to bribe all these refs week in week out?? the Fire certainly arent making it from Ticket Sales, as attendance has reach a near all time low… perhaps all those high paying advertisers, seeing as this league is the most popular league around??
do you ever think of what the refs have to lose if caught??
honestly, do you actually think before typing??
Terry Vaughn refereed my high school, club and college matches from the mid-90s to the early 2000s.
For some reason, everyone thought he was this incredible referee.
I thought he was garbage, and probably got a yellow for dissent in 60% of the games he reffed.
The referee network in the US is a worse clique than the USSF. Its almost impossible to break into unless you kiss some idiot’s ass who has never really played the game.
There seem to be a lot more people that think that something is wrong here. Maybe you need to grow up so you can see things the way they really are. If its from Chicago, its probably corrupt.
the refs have alot more to lose then the teams….
if the refs are caught taking bribes of any form it not only hurts their reffing with the MLS (im sure they’d be banned) but since the USSF provides the refs, they would also suffer by not getting any USMN games…
you people truly need to grow up… this subject is non-existent
Hands down a dive. way anyone goes down that easy, except for Blanco. Horrid reffing in the two midweek games. Why can’t we get some EPL refs on loan for the summer.
An investigation needs to be done. Either the refs need to quit and work at McDonalds because the have no reffing skills, or Chicago have been paying them off. One or the other. Or maybe both.
I’ve watched MLS all year long and I’ve questioned many referee’s calls wondering what they were thinking. But last nights game was different, I really though Terry Vaugh did an excellent job, he was never more than 15 yards away from making a call. He was right there!! The first PK took a lot of guts on him to take his AR’s call and he did it. To many times ref’s think they are above the game, ala Brian Hall!! LOL.. J/K Brian.. But you know what I’m saying. Terry good game, good calls, finally a game that was ref’d properly.
What I saw and didn’t like one bit was Sasha Klejstan talking crap to the coaching staff of Chicago. I can see now why he played so poorly in El Salvador, can you imagine him trying to respond to thousands of Salvadoreans talking smack. LOL.. Sasha play soccer and be a professional!!