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MLS recognizes Geiger as 2014 Referee of the Year

MarkGeigerFIFAWorldCupSpainChile1 (Getty)

By RYAN TOLMICH

After making a name for himself internationally during his time at this summer’s World Cup, Mark Geiger has earned himself domestic recognition.

MLS announced Tuesday that Geiger has been named MLS Referee of the Year for the second time in his career. Geiger, who won the award previously in 2011, toppedĀ Jair Marrufo and Alan Kelly for this year’s award.

Geiger rose to prominence during this summer’s World Cup, where he became the first American referee to be assigned for a knockout match. In total, Geiger was the head official for three contests, while also playing a part in the highly-publicized matchup between Italy and Uruguay that saw Luis Suarez bite Giorgio Chiellini, as well as the semifinal meeting between Germany and Brazil.

In addition to Geiger’s award, MLS also announced that Paul Scott had been recognized as MLS Assistant Referee of the Year, beating outĀ Peter Manikowski and Adam Wienckowski, who finished second and third, respectively.

How do you rate Geiger as a referee? Who do you think is the league’s best official?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Perfect timing. I guess this is the way the league makes a statement after witnessing the worst officiated game in following the league for 19 years. Geiger really either sets the bar too high or MLS refs in general are really worth less than a pack of chips.

    Reply
      • MF#1 has probably never even called a game before…it’s a whole lot harder than people think! Geiger is easily the top referee in MLS. Salazar is his next closest competitor and there’s a noticeable dip there.

    • Why? So that we can “whine” about the level of officiating in the league?

      How about we keep him here and may he becomes a model for our other refs? Shipping off our best to Europe when Europe is loaded with great refs makes little to no sense to me.

      Reply

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