Photo by ISIphotos.com
Given the seeming frequency with which match officials make questionable calls in U.S. national team matches, it only made sense to provide U.S. fans with some more information on the referee for tonight's World Cup qualifier vs. Trinidad & Tobago.
Tonight's referee is Joel Aguilar of El Salvador. The 30-year-old referee is regarded as one of the best young officials in CONCACAF and was actually one of five CONCACAF referees to be pre-selected to the pool for referees for World Cup 2010. In fact, he was youngest referee in that 38-referee pool.
As for his recent body of work, Aguilar will be remembered most recently for his sending off of Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre during the Gold Cup after Aguirre collided with Panamanian Ricardo Phillips. The play resulted in a suspension for Aguirre, but some bad blood toward Aguilar, who was pulled from doing the USA-Mexico qualifier in Mexico City after objections from the Mexican Federation. This might explain why he hasn't done a qualifier since Costa Rica's 2-0 win vs. Honduras on Feb. 11.
Wondering about Aguilar's track record with the United States?
He officiated the U.S. team's 1-0 win vs. Cuba in Cuba last year, and also refereed the United States' 0-0 tie vs. Argentina on June 6, 2008.
Canadian national team fans don't have fond memories of Aguilar after he awarded a controversial penalty to Honduras in the Gold Cup quarterfinals in July, a decision that ultimately helped knock the Canadians out of the tournament.
And if you're wondering, home teams are 4-2-1 in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches officiated by Aguilar, though one of those two home losses was Cuba's 1-0 loss to the United States.
Aguilar's most recent high-profile match was the SuperLiga final, won by Tigres on penalty kicks over the Chicago Fire on Aug. 5th.
So what's our take? Aguilar is one of the better referees in a region filled with bad ones, and while he did botch the penalty call in the Gold Cup quarters, he has a track record of being a solid official and one who should call tonight's game well.
What do you think of Aguilar officiating the USA-Trinidad & Tobago qualifier? Think the game is in good hands? Just glad someone like Neil Brizan or Courtney Campbell isn't reffing the match?
Share your thoughts below.
In the end, the officiating was solid. This was one of the few US games where I wasn’t yelling at the TV out of disbelief over refs’ calls or non-calls.
HORRIBLE REF!
He should have sent off half the Panamenian team before he sent off Aguirre!
Aguilar was removed because he had officiated three straight games involving the Mexican National team or a Mexican club.
It had nothing to do with Aguirre.
Is there a group of fans that complain about the ref more than anyone else?
US fans just fail to realize that MLS officiating is horrible and the players get used to getting away with calls that refs on the international stage won’t look away from.
sheeesh
I know this sounds trite, but if we play our game and take care of business, there’s no need to worry about the referee. Finishing our chances and avoiding clumsy, late challenges that could result in cards, free kicks from close range, or PK’s should be enough. With little exception, T&T is tremendously out-manned from a talent standpoint against us. We just need to get it done…that’s what good teams do.
Patrick in Santa Fe, NM
Try the Green Onion on St. Michaels drive, its an “Irish” Pub, and more likely to be into soccer… But because this game is on ESPN Classic, I would definately call first!
Good luck, tell my paisanos hello!
Speaking of CONCACAF refs…anyone know what happened to Carlos Batres?
—————
He tore is hamstring (or something like that) during the fitness test for the Confederations Cup.
Does anyone else find it interesting that you can “object” to a referee assigned to your match and then possibly get him reassigned? Unless they could show flat-out bias or incompetence – which should disqualify the guy from officiating any match at all — how can Mexico get Aguilar removed?
Also, re: ten yards on free kicks — in the Mexican League the refs use some sort of non-permanent spray (powder?) to mark the spot and the ten-yard line. Seems like a great idea.
(SBI-What Mexico did was point out that Aguilar had called the Panama GOld Cup match and the SuperLiga final between a Mexican team and American team, so Mexico-USA would have been his third match involving Mexican teams in a month. Whatever it was, it sure sounded like a pile of crap.)
Lets run for a moment with the idea of bringing in refs from other federations. Remember that those federations also have WCQs on the same dates that they need officials for. Do you really think that they would allow their best officials to go to another federation for those matches? NOT. So we’d get the younger, up and coming referees from those federations and would not necessarily be any better off. Plus, CONCACAF referees would not be refereeing and therefore not improving.
Also, I believe during the qualifying rounds the referees were selected from countries outside their groups (would have to check). But at this point, the federation needs to provide its best referees for the WCQs, while also giving the SA2010 World Cup candidates quality matches in the months running up to the tournament. And as has already been pointed out – the best referees tend to come from the countries with the best soccer.
Aguilar is very young. This was evident in the Mexico Panama match, which he had difficulty controlling. Let’s hope he learned a great deal from that match and is in top form tonight. He has every motivation to be, as he is on the short list for SA2010, but his selection as a referee for the tournament is not yet assured. This match may be the last high-profile international in which he has a chance to make his case for inclusion in the final referee pool. More likely though, he is being groomed for 2014.
Oh, and Batres is injured.
NM
Carlos Batres….get well soon.
@Evan “I like this Meet the Ref blog post. I think it should become a continuing thing for US matches.”
I agree.
Courtney Campbell just might be the worst referee ever. I wouldn’t want him to officiate a girls high school junior varsity game.
If Mexico objects to Joel Aguilar then you know the guy does a credible job.
Posted by: Oranje Mike | September 09, 2009 at 11:10 AM
AWESOME first post.
but there is no way that i will ever think a referee will make some kind of game-altering decision in USA WC qualifiers.
i’ve always said the solution was so simple… bring in UEFA/CONMEBOL refs for USA games… that way neutrality is assured.
@Kip that would be awesome but its never going to happen.
i like this post.. i have a slightly less amount of distrust for the ref going into the game now.
Hey Kip,
You forgot to add, “and we will never qualify for a World Cup again”…quite recycling this tired and utterly ridiculous line of reasoning…
Did the assistant even raise his flag on the supposed Dempsey foul? I thought the Center ref called the play and that was why all the confusion.
Maybe it’s time the USA pulled an Australia and move itself to another federation, like UEFA or CONMEBOL. Better refs, better competition, and a better indicator of our “progress” as a soccer nation.
I like this Meet the Ref blog post. I think it should become a continuing thing for US matches.
Why would they even use a ref of ANY team that is in the final six. Why not a Canadian ref or a Guatemalan ref?
@Braden
I think the lesson would be to not anger any other teams and call a good game. He wants to be eligible for as many games as possible for a bigger check. And he also wants to prove himself so he can go to SA 2010
The conspiracy theorist in me is concerned that the first game back from being pulled for the Mexico/U.S. qualifier is another U.S. match. To me, it seems like Mexico successfully lobbied to have him removed, which seems to suggest that the best way to get back in Mexico’s good graces is to pull a few bad calls in this game. I mean, from a career standpoint if one team in CONCACAF can get you pulled from really important games because they don’t like you, wouldn’t the obvious lesson be that you should do everything you can to suck up to that team?
he was terrible in that mexico gold cup game. totally lost control. that just should have been called.
So,
Im in santa fe NEW MEXICO on a family vacation and need a bar to watch the game. I’ve been told catamount and el paseo are my best bets… Anyone know of any other bars that might be showing it, willing to change the channel?
Has any explanation been given as to why Jozy’s 2nd goal was disallowed?
Posted by: Will | September 09, 2009 at 12:20 PM
My understanding was there was (supposedly) a foul by Dempsey.
@ Will
I believe the call was on Dempsey for lifting his leg after the pass and taking out the ES defender. Not what it looks like on any of the highlights I’ve seen, but I think that was the call from the asistant.
Will, it is believed Clint Dempsey was called for a foul when he layed out to make the pass and had a defender fall across his prone body.
Has any explanation been given as to why Jozy’s 2nd goal was disallowed?
CONCACAF has serious officiating problems, not occasionally but nearly every game. One man cannot change a culture of corruption.
“… sending off of Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre during the Gold Cup after Aguirre collided with Panamanian Ricardo Phillips…”
Collision sounds like an accidental meeting, which it was not. Is this how history is rewritten?
Corey, look two posts above yours.
I’m pretty certain I’ve seen this guy lose control of more than one game.
I do know I was freaked out when they announced that he would be the ref for the Azteca qualifier.
Of course, when a referee has to physically remove a Mexican player’s hands from around a US player’s throat, and not only doesn’t give a red, or even a yellow, but instead, gives the foul to the US player….
Well, let’s just say that the replacement wasn’t that great, either.
Maybe the Mexicans will complain that he will have a say in a USA result.
Great Piece. I think it’s ridiculous that these kinds of posts are necessary on a US Soccer site. (and they are needed) The reffing has been awful for this entire qualifying campaign. I went to the USA vs El Salvador game and it was worse than it appeared.
There were so many terrible offside calls that I began to question whether or not the judges knew what an offside position is.
Two plays stood out in particular. One was off a goal kick in which a Salvadoran player literally just fell on the ground while waiting to head the ball which was called a foul. Very strange
The other was Jozy’s disallowed goal. Not only was he onside but there’s no way he could have fouled his man. After the game the ref refused to give Jozy a reason for the call which means he was wrong and to stubborn to admit a mistake.
It’s tough to watch games that are officiated this way. And on further note I attended the game with a Canadian and an Austrian who both agreed the game was called horribly.
If he officiated the USA-Argentina game, didn’t he give a BS red card to Mastroeni?
As far as using Ref’s that are outside of CONCACAF for qualifying I believe that you have to be apart of that region in order to referee it for qualifying. Europe is a bad example for this round as they have several groups and have officials that they can use who would not being in the group. South America would be a better example with the single table like what our current stage is.
I think it could be better if referee from different regions worked qualifying but probably not going to happen.
Don’t forget in that Argentina game he gave Edu a questionable yellow, and then was convinced by Argentine players it was Mastroeni’s second, and presented Pablo with an outrageous red. Other than that, I can’t remember any reasons to not like him.
Many insightful comments. Allow me to vent on my pet peeve: time wasting on free kicks.
As a novice ref I was taught to protect the players and to stop the cheating. By allowing the offending team to surround a prospective free kick taker and hardly ever give the prescribed ten yards, referees are rewarding the offenders. I know this happens everywhere, but I am really fed up with this persistent infringement on the Laws of the Game.
Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated raised the question with the USSF. From Grant Wahl’s Twitter (GrantWahl):
USSF prez Gulati said Concacaf honchos decided to allow refs from still-competing nations in order not to freeze out region’s quality refs.
https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/statuses/3790018695
“Why are referees from any of the teams remaining in the hex reffing any of the WCQ matches?”
Conflict of interest indeed. Does anyone know if there are any American refs calling games in CONCACAF? Not that they’re much better but I think it’s time some questionable calls indirectly benefit us.
This is essentially the Concacaf championships so they use concacaf refs. In Europr they use UEFA refs, this region is small so the pool of refs is small as well.
It is something that we have to deal with in the MLS and in CONCACAF.
The ref won’t decide the game, but can influence the game. The foul or whatever was called when Jozy scored influenzed the game, but didn’t decide it. If that goal is scored I am guessing the USA adds at least one more, so we wouldn’t have had to sit through the last 10 mintues waiting for something bad to happen.
My biggest concern is for some of the dumb yellows that can be handed out, especially with the importance of the last two games and 9 players sitting on yellows.
Speaking of CONCACAF refs…anyone know what happened to Carlos Batres?
He was widely thought of as the best ref in CONCACAF and since Guatemala has been eliminated he should be working these games. He’s done a ton of WCQ’s, Olympics, as well as the finals of the Club World Cup.
“Why are referees from any of the teams remaining in the hex reffing any of the WCQ matches?”
I’ve wondered this as well. It’s an obvious conflict of interest. What if a Danish ref did the Portugal v Hungary match? UEFA would never allow that.
If refs from better soccer countries are desired, why don’t we get them from Europe or S. America?
Everyone was saying that the referees for the matches against Mexico and ES were supposed to be good also . . .
I’m wary of any CONCACAF referee.
I don’t see how Mexico had any case objecting to him being the referee. Aguirre’s red card was clear cut. What more does a manager have to do in a game to earn himself a red card?
does Jack Warner get to pick who goes to the WC next year from the referee pool?
If so, we already know how this will play out…just kidding
After watching aguilar incorrectly give that penalty to Honduras against Canada in the Goldcup. I would say every player (US and T&T) better be extra carefull! Aguilar is indesisive and quick to jump to conclusions and does not consider to consult the side officials. He’s not assertive on the field, so many players, especially Central Americans, tend to bully him, hoping to sway his opinion. Lastly, he has difficulty distinquishing between dives and penalties (i.e. ‘extra careful’.
He’s not the worse ref, but being young, I don’t believe GoldCup and WC Qualifers should be learning exercises for him. Obviously, the Mexican FA feel the same way.
Even though the referees did not appear to do anything near a capable job, I am thinking more positively after reviewing the opportunities that the USMNT had on Saturday. Of course there was the two golas at 41 minutes and 47 minutes. However, the number of opportunities that were produced is promising. We just need to see some better finisihing in the final third (and I think Jozy, Clint, and Landon, and Charlie are all well equipped to improve on their goal scoring rate). Here were some missed opportunities from Saturday:
1. 28th minute – Dempsey l;eft footer over the bar (from Davies).
2. 39th minute – Dempsey header into ground and over bar (from Spector).
3. 40th minute – Davies shot cleared off the line (from Jozy).
4. 58th minute – Jozy’s goal disallowed (from Dempsey).
5. 65th minute – Dempsey poor shot on breakaway and rebound slammed wide(from Benny).
6. 87th minute – Torres slamming header remarkably saved (from Holden).
So, six goal scoring (or more,with rebounds, etc.) opportunities were there for the taking. I think that when you consider all of the chances that the boys created, things look a little better than the 2-1 final score.
I am looking for more finishing tonight. Go USA!
“Aguilar will be remembered most recently for his sending off of Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre”
I like him alredy………. But seriously, I hope he keeps the miscalls at a minimum, this is a crucial match for us and the last thing we need is a bad ref.
“Why are referees from any of the teams remaining in the hex reffing any of the WCQ matches?”
Well, the better soccer countries usually produce the better soccer referees. I don’t think we want someone from Cuba or Haiti reffing the match.
Could be worse, for sure. Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t see the atmosphere at Port of Spain as being nearly as intimidating for the ref (or opponent) as, say, Azteca or San Pedro Sula. Something about that laid-back island atmosphere. So hopefully we get a fair shake tonight.
Why are referees from any of the teams remaining in the hex reffing any of the WCQ matches? This is an obvious concern just based on appearance. Well, hopefully he is more interested in reffing at the WC next year and will do his best tonight to be sure he calls things fairly.
If Mexico objects to Joel Aguilar then you know the guy does a credible job.