Being a soccer referee is a tough job. It takes a mental and physical toll to keep up with 22 athletes on the pitch while also trying to make sound judgments.
Referees often take a verbal beating, and on rare occasions, even face physical confrontation, but in a profession where subjectivity needs to as objective as possible, there’s really no winning to being an official sometimes.
So in case you were wondering what it’s like to be a referee in MLS, the Professional Referee Organization provided a behind-the-scenes look at that experience, courtesy of Fox Soccer.
That, brief though it was, was a fascinating video. The one fellow’s point about how a lot of people think the officials just sort of show up on game day hit home–I’ve been one of those people. Not any more! I learned more about referees in the past 10 minutes than in the previous 2 or 3 years. Well done.
Great video and thanks for sharing.
Notice how there is no san Geiger in there. Also, for Feilhaber fans maybe you can see why he never gets called with that attitude.
Really good stuff. I always like to see the behind the scenes action and it is especially helpful to see things from a different perspective and hear what actually goes on. A week or so ago I was watching a game when one thing struck me. As a referee you have to concentrate for 100% of the game. You can’t let your attention wander for even a second. That is not easy to do. Add in the speed of play and the judgmental nature of the job, it must be very difficult. While it is easy to criticize based on slow motion replay, it is a very difficult job. Having watched MLS since its first season, there is no doubt that the refereeing has improved at least as much as the play and the players.
I was watching the Rugby World Cup semifinal and their refs had cameras on their chests which gave a really cool perspective of what they are seeing. The TV producer could switch to it at any time and show what they are seeing. Obviously, that isn’t perfect but I thought it was a cool idea that could be adopted in soccer.
Refs in rugby are treated with utmost respect. It’s a shame that never made it into soccer.
More of this needs to be made. Fans need to hear the conversations between refs and players. It might change the perspective on who is being unreasonable, and I love that refs are being held accountable and challenged by each other.
I totally agree on all accounts.