Real Salt Lake blog

As we all know Jason has been suspended for another two games for making comments about the quality of the ref’s in MLS.  This will be three total games missed now due to his comments.  Should he just shut up?  Or does the MLS need to hear it?  And if someone is talking, WILL they hear it?

Plain and simple the MLS ref’s stink, badly.  They don’t have enough of them, so they have to take low quality ref’s that do not know how to do their job.  That is not an insult, it is just simply the truth.  I do not know that there is a good solution, because if you look around the world, most of the FIFA refs stink too.

I find it interesting that the official MLS position is asking coaches to change, as opposed to them fixing the problem.  I have always learned that you can not change someone else, you can only change yourself.  Also, when faced with criticism, at least some of it is probably true.  Ivan Gazidis said “We asked for the continued leadership from coaches, seeking their support in particular to improve bench behavior and public commentary about officials”.  Sounds great, but why not at the same time work to make it better?  Why not say, we wish that the coaches would bring their complaints to us, as opposed to the media?  The answer…  They are not planning on fixing anything.

So should Jason keep talking?  I don’t know.  I do not think that anyone is listening, but sometimes it takes extremes to get heard.  Any great change comes at a cost, usually.  Personally I hope that Jason does it again in two weeks when he is back, and gets a 4 week suspension…  The MLS needs some negative press about their refs.