MLS Week 26 Reports: 6 penalties and 5 red cards in action packed week

New York Red Bulls 3-2 Chicago          Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Chapman and crew had one of the strangest plays of the season to deal with, which they unfortunately made a mistake on.
9th Minute: NY's Matt Miazga is knocked over by Chicago's Jeff Larentowicz in the box as they battle for a set piece. The contact wasn't huge and some referees would let it go, but I support Chapman's decision to point to the spot since he has a much better view of the incident then what I can see from the video.
49th Minute: NY score an equalizer on a trick corner kick play where Lloyd Sam taps the ball into play so Sacha Kljestan can dribble into the box straight from the corner and make a quick pass to a wide open Ronald Zubar. However, Sam clearly touches the ball twice after Chapman blows the whistle to start the play, which should result in an indirect free kick for Chicago. AR Anthony Vasoli should've seen this and informed Chapman of the infringement.

Colorado 2-1 Houston                           Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Fischer called two penalties in this match, but both had an interesting twist.
19th Minute: Houston Defender Alex slides in to try to block a pass and he successfully does so. Unfortunately, the ball hits his trailing left arm. Fischer calls for a penalty on the signal of AR Fabio Tovar. Unfortunately, I disagree with the penalty call since I think Alex couldn't have really done anything to avoid the ball brushing his hand.
36th Minute: Once again Fischer signal a penalty after a signal from an AR, though this time it was Claudiu Badea who signaled for a penalty. This one is certainly correct, as Colorado's Bobby Burling practically swatted away a long ball from Houston. Good call by Badea and Fischer.

San Jose 1-0 LA Galaxy                       Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero (United States)
Rivero found himself facing criticism from LA manager Bruce Arena and captain Robbie Keane for an important sending off in this match.
47th Minute: San Jose's Quincy Amarikwa is running towards goal with just the keeper to beat when he is pulled down by Leonardo. Rivero shows red, and I agree despite criticism from Keane and Arena that Omar Gonzalez had a chance of catching up to Amarikwa. To me it looks like it was unlikely that Gonzalez was going to catch up and therefore red is the right call. Absolutely correct sending off by Rivero.

NYCFC 1-2 Columbus                         Referee: Juan Guzman (United States)
Guzman and his crew had a strong game with no real controversy. Great work by the whole team!

Toronto FC 2-1 Montreal                     Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Villarreal had a strong performance in the 401 derby, correctly showing one second yellow.
77th Minute: Montreal's Laurent Ciman is already booked when he bundles over Robbie Findley on the wing. Villarreal shows a second yellow and it was such a clear foul that Ciman didn't even argue the decision. Nice call by Villarreal.

Philadelphia 0-1 New England             Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Penso also showed a red in his match and it was for a rarely seen offense in stoppage time.
94th Minute: Philly's Christian Maidana pushes Lee Nguyen down in an act of frustration, drawing a foul call from Penso. As Maidana backs away from Nguyen he clearly spits at the Revs midfielder. Penso sees this and correctly sends Maidana off.

Orlando 1-1 Chicago                            Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Toledo had a quiet game with little controversy. Nothing to look at here.

Houston 2-0 Vancouver                        Referee: Kevin Stott (United States)
Stott showed two second yellows to Vancouver in this match and both were certainly deserved.
56th Minute: Giles Barnes of Houston is in space on the left wing when he is chopped down by Kendall Waston, who had already been booked. Stott shows a second yellow and I agree since the foul was certainly reckless enough to deserve a yellow.
64th Minute: Vancouver's Matias Laba, already on a yellow, tries to kick the ball away from Sheanon Williams but he misses and accidentally kicks Williams. Stott shows Laba a second yellow and one again I agree because despite the lack of intention from Laba, the kick was enough of a foul to deserve a yellow. Good call by the veteran MLS referee.

FC Dallas 2-0 Real Salt Lake               Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel called two penalties in this match, but I unfortunately only agree with one of the calls.
49th Minute: RSL's Aaron Maund makes a strong but legal challenge on Tesho Akindele in the box and appears to win the ball cleanly. However, Unkel doesn't see it this way and points to the spot to to the shock of the RSL players.
77th Minute: RSL's Juan Manuel Martinez is dribbling through the box when he is knocked over by Kellyn Acosta. This time Unkel gets it right and points to the spot. Good call by the second year MLS referee.

Nick Rimando expresses his displeasure with Unkel's penalty call

Colorado 2-1 Kansas City                    Referee: Jorge Gonzalez (United States)
Gonzalez and his crew had a good match with little controversy. Nothing to go in depth on from this match.

Seattle 2-1 Portland                              Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Kelly called one penalty in this match, drawing criticism from Portland manager Caleb Porter for his decision.
41st Minute: Seattle play a long ball forward to Obafemi Martins, who is impeded by Portland keeper Adam Kwarasey. Kelly calls a penalty but does not show Kwarasey a card of any color. For me, it was a clear penalty and certainly not a red for DOGSO since there were two defenders who could have potentially stopped Martins but I still would've liked to have seen a yellow for stopping a promising attack from Kelly.

New York Red Bulls 3-0 DC United    Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Marrufo had a strong match in the Atlantic Cup with no controversy. Nice work by him and his crew.

Thanks for reading!

Video Analysis 1: Red Bulls trick goal in the MLS

Welcome to the first ever Video Analysis, which is a new weekly series where we look at a video clip of an interesting call from a football match, break it down for you and tell you our opinion on whether the officials got it right. 

SITUATION

Match: New York at Chicago

Date: August 26 

Score: 2-1 Chicago

Minute: 48'

Setup: Corner kick for New York

Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)

At first glance, it looks like a completely legitimate goal by Ronald Zubar since as you see in the replay Lloyd Sam (#10 in white) clearly touches the ball in play on the corner, allowing Sacha Kljestan to dribble with the ball into the box. Here is the problem: Sam clearly touches the ball twice after Referee Allen Chapman blows the whistle. Therefore, by the FIFA Laws of the Game 17, Sam has committed an infraction by touching the ball twice on a set piece that should be punished with an indirect free kick to Chicago. Noticing this infraction is the responsibility of assistant Anthony Vasoli, who should've informed Chapman of the violation.

Tell us what you think in the comments. Should the goal have stood or not?

UEFA Champions League Playoffs Leg 2 Reports

Shakhtar Donetsk 2-2 Rapid Vienna (3-2 Donetsk)        Referee: Szymon Marcianiak (Poland)
Marciniak had a decent match with not much controversy overall but could improve his positioning in the future since he missed a couple crucial fouls including a potential handball in the box that he could have seen if he had been in better position.

Malmo FF 2-0 Celtic (4-3 Malmo)                                   Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia)
Mazic found himself in the middle of controversy after a highly questionable disallowal of a Celtic goal.
41st Minute: Nir Bitton thinks he has leveled the score at 1 for Celtic, only to see Mazic signal for a handball against him before he knocked the ball in. The problem with the call is that the handball was by a Malmo defender, not Bitton. This decision was not so much Mazic's fault as it was additional assistant Dejan Flipovic's, since Flipovic likely instructed Mazic to make the call. Regardless, it was a big mistake by the Serb crew.

Dinamo Zagreb 4-1 Skenderbeu Korce (6-2 Zagreb)       Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Rocchi, one of two Italian referees on duty in the second legs, had a mediocre night overall but did correctly make his one big decision in this high-scoring match.
48th Minute: Dinamo's Goncalo Santos is already booked when he comes in late steps on a Skenderbeu player with his studs. Rocchi shows a second yellow and I agree since even though the foot spike was not at all intentional, Santos' challenge was reckless and as a consequence he deserves a yellow.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1-1 FC Basel (3-3 Tel-Aviv*)               Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Skomina had the best performance of any referee from the Tuesday legs as he kept excellent control of a crucial match in Israel. Nothing to go in depth on from this match.

AS Monaco 2-1 Valencia (4-3 Valencia)                            Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
Rizzoli wasn't up to his usual high standard in this match, struggling with showing harsh discipline but his linesman was the one who found himself in the center of controversy.
75th Minute: Monaco move to one goal down in the tie after Uwa Echieljile taps home a rebound right in front of the Valencia goal. The only problem is that Echieljile appears to be offsides when he taps the ball home. Big mistake to not flag Echieljile for offsides by AR Elenito De Liberatore.

APOEL Nicosia 1-1 Astana 1964 (2-1 Astana)                 Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
Atkinson had yet another excellent European display as he once again showed his skills in controlling a match. His team was strong as well, with an excellent onside decision from assistant Stuart Burt on Astana's equalizer. Great work by Atkinson and his crew, who could see a trip to Euro 2016 if they keep the good work up.

Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Lazio (3-1 Leverkusen)                Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
Carballo had a strong match, getting his one key decision correct. I do think he could work on dissent management however, as this is a constant problem for him.
68th Minute: Stefan Kiessling is dribbling forward with the ball for Leverkusen when he is tripped up with a high boot by Lazio defender Mauricio, who is already on a yellow. Carballo shows a second yellow and I agree since the challenge was both Reckless and Stopping a Promising Attack, both yellow card offenses.

Mauricio sees red from Carballo for his challenge on Kiessling

Club Brugge 0-4 Manchester United (7-1 Manchester)   Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
Lahoz had an average match overall, though I do think a late penalty awarded to United was very harsh. Overall though, this wasn't a difficult assignment for Lahoz since the game wasn't ever in doubt.
81st Minute: Brugge's Oscar Duarte tries to head away a United cross into the area but he unintentionally heads it onto his hand. Lahoz calls penalty but I think it is more of a ball to hand situation since Duarte couldn't possibly have avoided the ball hitting his hand. Play on is the right decision in my book.

Partizan Belgrade 2-1 BATE Borisov (2-2 BATE*)            Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)
Moen and his crew had a very quiet match with not much controversy. Great job by Moen to have a strong showing in an intense game and environment.

CSKA Moscow 3-1 Sporting Lisbon (4-3 Moscow)            Referee: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic)
Kralovec did an excellent job keeping control of a very important match and his late red card decision was spot on.
92nd Minute: Lisbon's Joao Mario, likely in an act of anger about losing a two goal aggregate lead, knees Moscow's Ahmed Musa in the chest and could have done more damage had his exposed studs made contact with Musa. Kralovec shows red and I think he was absolutely right. Mario's actions qualify as Serious Foul Play any day of the week for me.

*away goals rule

Premier League Week 3 Review: Terry sees red for first time since 2011

West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Chelsea                   Referee: Mark Clattenburg
It was a busy Sunday afternoon for Mark Clattenburg, who had two big calls to make.
13th Minute: West Brom's Callum McManaman is dribbling around at the top of the area when he is tripped up by a lunging Nemanja Matic. It was a very easy call for Clattenburg, who sees the contact and points to the spot.
54th Minute: Salomon Rondon is running forward towards goal when he is given a light tug from behind by Chelsea captain John Terry. Clattenburg shows Terry a straight red and many argue that the contact was very minimal and Rondon went down too easy but I still think that there was enough contact to slow Rondon's run down. Nice job by Clattenburg to be able to make the big call.

Clattenburg gives Terry his marching orders

Manchester United 0-0 Newcastle United        Referee: Craig Pawson
Pawson himself had a quiet match, but his assistant found himself at the center of controversy.
4th Minute: Wayne Rooney appears to give United a 1-0 lead after finishing a through ball from Adrian Januzaj but assistant Lee Betts raises his flag. It was a very tight play, but it looks to me like Rooney was in line with the last defender and therefore the goal should've counted.

Crystal Palace 2-1 Aston Villa                          Referee: Keith Stroud
Stroud, who is one of three referees from the football league who will be getting Premier League matches this season, did very well in this match and is likely in the lead for a promotion next season.
60th Minute: Dwight Gayle sends the Palace fans into celebration when he appears to open the scoring with a nice strike on the hour mark. At first Stroud signals for a goal, but after talking to his assistant Peter Kirkup he disallows the goal because it took a deflection off of James McArthur, who was in an offsides position. Great teamwork from Stroud and Kirkup to get the call right.

West Ham United 3-4 Bournemouth                Referee: Jonathan Moss
Moss had an excellent match, correctly calling two penalties, one of which resulted in a red card.
48th Minute: West Ham's Mark Noble is dribbling at the top of the area when Joshua King lunges in and trips him up. Easy penalty call for Moss, who correctly points to the spot.
79th Minute: Max Gradel of Bournemouth is running in on goal when he is tripped up from behind in the box by Carl Jenkinson. Moss correctly calls a penalty and also sends off Jenkinson for Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. Great work by the 2015 FA Cup final referee.

Liverpool 0-0 Arsenal                                       Referee: Michael Oliver
It was a quiet Monday night for Oliver himself but the same can't be said for AR Simon Bennett, who faced criticism for a questionable offsides decision early in the match.
8th Minute: Aaron Ramsey appears to give Arsenal an early lead after he finishes off a Santi Cazorla through ball in the 8th minute but linesman Simon Bennett signals for offsides. To me, it looks like Ramsey was in line with the last defender and therefore the goal should have stood. Big mistake by Bennett to raise the flag.

Leicester City 1-1 Tottenham                           Referee: Martin Atkinson
Norwich City 1-1 Stoke City                            Referee: Mike Dean
Sunderland 1-1 Swansea                                   Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Everton 0-2 Manchester City                            Referee: Anthony Taylor
Watford 0-0 Southampton                                 Referee: Andre Marriner
Atkinson, Dean, Swarbrick, Taylor, and Marriner all had quiet games with little controversy to speak of. Nice work by those three and their crews.

MLS Week 25 Reports: Rivero shows two reds at BMO

Kansas City 0-5 San Jose            Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
Marrufo had two big calls to make in San Jose's shocking 5-0 victory and I think he got both of them right.
16th Minute: Kansas City's Chance Myers pushes over Quincy Amarikwa in the middle of the SKC box. This was about as clear a penalty as you can possibly get for Marrufo, who correctly points to the spot.
71st Minute: Amarikwa is through on goal when he is given a slight pull from behind by SKC's Benny Feilhaber. Marrufo elects to show Feilhaber a red card, and I agree. Even though the contact was minimal it still slowed Amarikwa's run on goal and allowed defenders to catch up to him. Good call by Marrufo.

Portland 2-2 Houston                  Referee: Ricardo Salazar (United States)
Salazar had one important call to make in this match and I think that he got it right.
91st Minute: Diego Chara is trying to seal off Errick Torres when he suddenly throws an elbow at the Houston defender's neck. Salazar has no choice but to send Chara off for violent conduct. Good decision by the veteran MLS referee.

Toronto 5-0 Orlando                   Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero (United States)
Rivero showed two red cards in the week's second 5-0 scoreline but I have my doubts on one of the two reds.
36th Minute: Orlando's Rafael Ramos slides in hard on Justin Morrow in what seems to be a yellow card offense. However, Rivero chooses to show Ramos a straight red which is a very harsh decision at best. The key that makes it a yellow for me is the fact that Ramos' studs weren't really showing, which takes a lot of the danger out of a challenge like that.
82nd Minute: Toronto's Robbie Findley has dribbled past Orlando goalkeeper Tally Hall and just has a couple Orlando defenders to beat when he is tripped up in the box by one of the defenders, Adrian Winter. Rivero calls a penalty and shows Winter, who was playing on a yellow, a second yellow reducing Orlando to just 9 men. I agree with both of Rivero's decisions on this play since it was a clear foul in the box that stopped Findley from potentially scoring.

Rivero gives Winter his second yellow card of the match

DC United 0-2 San Jose             Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Kelly had one important call to make and he absolutely nailed it.
21st Minute: DC appear to tie the score at one after Michael Farfan tapped home the rebound after Alvaro Saborio blocked a clearance by keeper David Bingham. The only problem is that Saborio blocked the clearance with his hand. Kelly sees this and disallows the goal for the handball. Good call by the Irish referee.

Real Salt Lake 2-0 Seattle          Referee: Silviu Petrescu (Canada)
Petrescu had one big decision to make in an otherwise quiet match for him and his crew.
12th Minute: Ramon Torres of Seattle is trying to control the ball on the very edge of his own box but ends up using his hand to knock the ball down. Petrescu calls a penalty, and though the handball was clear, Torres' body wasn't in the box. However, since Torres' hand was in the area when it hit the ball, it still is a penalty. Great call by Petrescu, who may have been helped by assistant Adam Garner.

LA Galaxy 5-1 NYCFC              Referee: Baldomero Toledo (United States)
Toledo called one penalty in this match and I think he was right.
79th Minute: NYCFC's Patrick Mullins is shielding the ball from Dan Gargan when he is tripped up by the LA defender. Mullins sells it a bit but it still is a penalty for me. Good decision by Toledo.

Columbus 2-2 NYCFC               Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Montreal 0-1 Philadelphia          Referee: Edvin Jurisevic (United States)
Columbus 3-2 Kansas City         Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Chicago 0-1 Colorado                Referee: Sorin Stoica (United States)
Vancouver 1-0 FC Dallas            Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
These five and their crews all had very quiet nights. Nothing to look at from these matches.

UEFA Champions League Playoffs Leg 1 Reports: Aytekin sends man off in Manchester

Astana 1-0 APOEL                                   Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Kassai had a somewhat quiet night, though there was one APOEL penalty shout in the second half just before Astana scored the only goal of the match and I agree with the claims. The Astana defender  clearly trips up the APOEL attacker. Kassai was too far out to get a good look and should try to get in better position to see plays like that in the future.

Sporting Lisbon 2-1 CSKA Moscow        Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (Turkey)
Cakir, the finals referee in last year's tournament, had one big penalty decision to make in an otherwise quiet match.
26th Minute: Zoran Tošić of CSKA Moscow and Lisbon Defender Jefferson go for a 50-50 ball in the Lisbon box. Tošić wins the ball and in doing so gets tripped up by Jefferson. Çakir points to the spot and I agree. There was clear contact that was certainly enough to bring Tošić down and therefor deserving of a penalty call. Good decision by Çakir.

BATE Borisov 1-0 Partizan                      Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland)
Thomson showed one red card and it certainly was a very difficult decision.
45+1st Minute: Marko Jevtović of Partizan is already booked when he makes a foolish challenge on Nemanja Milunović of BATE, tripping up the Serbian midfielder at about midfield. It's a very borderline call that some referees could have chosen to issue a final warning on but Thomson decides to go for a second yellow, a call that is very acceptable in this case. Good work by Thomson to have the guts make a big call in a big moment.

Manchester United 3-1 Club Brugge        Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)
Aytekin showed 1 red in this match after his assistant saw a rough challenge from Brandon Mechele.
79th Minute: Brandon Mechele of Club Brugge, already booked, slides hard from behind a United player right in front of AR Markus Häcker, who signals for a foul and likely instructs Aytekin to show a second yellow. Good teamwork to get the call right.

Aytekin checks on an injured player during the match

Lazio 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen                     Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Ericsson struggled with consistency on the night and in the future he should try to have more set boundaries for whether a foul deserves a yellow or not. No plays to go in depth on here.

Celtic 3-2 Malmö FF                                 Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
It was an excellent performance from Brych in this match with nothing to go in depth on. If Brych keeps this up he will be a strong candidate for the UCL final (assuming no German teams are playing in it).

Skënderbeu 1-2 Dinamo Zagreb               Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)
Karasev was decent on the night but I saw two areas for improvement. I thought that Karasev could've shown more yellow cards in this match as his lack of discipline early caused him to have trouble keeping control in the match. I also think that the crew's teamwork was poor, with a couple of mistakes being made due to poor communication between the officials.

FC Basel 2-2 Maccabi Tel-Aviv               Referee: William Collum (Scotland)
Coming off of a shaky Super Cup performance, Collum was excellent in this match, correctly calling one penalty.
38th Minute: Matias Delgado of FC Basel is tripped up by Tel Aviv's Tal Ben Haim inside the Tel Aviv box. Easy penalty call for Collum (the challenge took Delgado's shoe off) and the Scottish referee was correct in pointing to the spot.

Rapid Vienna 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk       Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
It was an excellent performance for Kuipers in his first Champions League match since a questionable performance in PSG-Chelsea. Good work by the Dutch referee as he looks to get his international reputation back on track.

Valencia CF 3-1 Monaco                        Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
Clattenburg put together another decent Champions League match as he continues to battle Martin Atkinson for the right to be England's Euro 2016 referee. Nothing to go in depth on here.

Premier League Review Week 2: Controversy in East London and Liverpool

West Ham 1-2 Leicester City                  Referee: Anthony Taylor
Taylor had two big calls to make in this match and both involved potential fouls by goalkeepers.
45th Minute: Diafra Sakho of West Ham is inside the Leicester box and nearing goal when he is clotheslined by Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel. Taylor shockingly doesn't award West Ham a penalty which Hammers supporters will argue should also have been a red. Without a doubt it was a penalty, but I think that there were enough Leicester defenders in the area for Schmeichel to only see yellow. Regardless, it was a mistake by Taylor to not call the penalty.
91st Minute: West Ham keeper Adrian has moved forward into the Leicester box as West Ham desperately try to find an equalizer. The ball ends up bouncing behind Adrian and as he tries to kick it back over his head he accidentally kicks Jamie Vardy in the stomach. Taylor sends Adrian off, but I think that Adrian was naturally playing the ball when the unfortunate kick happened. That's a yellow in my book because of the complete lack of intent.

West Ham players remonstrate after the Adrian red card

Liverpool 1-0 Bournemouth                     Referee: Craig Pawson
Pawson had two big calls to make, and both went against a frustrated Bournemouth.
5th Minute: Tommy Elphick appears to put Bournemouth up 1-0 with a header goal but Pawson signals a foul. When I look at the replays, Elphick clearly pushes off of Dejan Lovren to get a better chance at the header. Good call by Pawson.
26th Minute: Liverpool's Christian Benteke scores the first goal of the game, but in my opinion the goal shouldn't have stood. Benteke himself was not offsides but teammate Philippe Coutinho, who made a play at the ball, was significantly offsides. Based on the new offsides rule, the goal shouldn't have stood since making an attempt at the ball qualifies as an offsides as much as touching it. Big mistake by AR Harry Lennard to not raise the flag.

Tottenham 2-2 Stoke City                        Referee: Robert Madley
Madley only had one big call to make in this match, but he got it absolutely correct.
78th Minute: Tottenham Defender Toby Alderweireld pulls back on the shoulder of Stoke's Joselu in the box. Easy penalty call for Madley, who correctly points to the spot.

Swansea City 2-0 Newcastle                   Referee: Mike Jones
Jones, who seems to have a habit of showing red cards, was spot on with his first red of the season.
41st Minute: Daryl Janmaat of Newcastle is already on a yellow when he pulls back Jefferson Montero on a Swansea counter. This is a simple call for jones who correctly gives Janmaat a second yellow for stopping a promising attack.

Manchester City 3-0 Chelsea                   Referee: Martin Atkinson
Atkinson had one big yellow or red decision in this match, and I agree with his decision.
45+1st Minute: City's Fernandinho appears to elbow Chelsea striker Diego Costa as they go up for a high ball. Atkinson shows a yellow and not a red and I agree due to the fact that Fernandinho  had no intent to elbow Costa. That was a great decision by Atkinson in my book.

Southampton 0-3 Everton                        Referee: Michael Oliver
Watford 0-0 West Bromwich Albion         Referee: Paul Tierney
Sunderland 1-3 Norwich City                  Referee: Kevin Friend
Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester United         Referee: Mike Dean
Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal                       Referee: Lee Mason
These five referees had quiet matches with very little controversy. Nice work by them and their crews.

Premier League Reports Week 1: Courtois sent off for DOGSO, questionable calls in Norwich

Chelsea 2-2 Swansea City                       Referee: Michael Oliver
Oliver had one very important call to make and I think he nailed it.
55th Minute: Bafetimbi Gomis of Swansea is through on goal with only Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois to beat. Courtois sticks his leg out and trips Gomis just inside the box. Oliver calls the obvious penalty and goes on to show Courtois red for Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. The penalty is clear, but the red card is more hazy since Gary Cahill potentially could have closed Gomis down. For me, the key word is opportunity, and Gomis clearly did have an opportunity to score a goal making red the right decision.

Oliver shows Courtois the red card

Norwich City 1-3 Crystal Palace             Referee: Simon Hooper
Hooper, not a member of the Select Group referees, was assigned to his first ever Premier League match. Unfortunately, it did not go well for Hooper, which begs the question of whether the appointment was a good idea for the first week of the season.
73rd Minute: Cameron Jerome appears to have leveled the score for Norwich with an overhead kick but Hooper disallows his goal for having his boot raised with studs showing. Hooper essentially called a dangerous play against Jerome but I think the call was wrong in this case since Jerome couldn't have done anything else but raise his boot to get the ball.
91st Minute: In the first minute of stoppage time, Norwich's Sebastien Bassong appears to be pushed in the back by Conor Wickham as he goes for a header in the area. It looks like a penalty to me, but Hooper doesn't call it.

Leicester City 4-2 Sunderland                 Referee: Lee Mason
Mason had one penalty decision to make in this high scoring match, and I think he got it right.
25th Minute: Sunderland's oft-disciplined defender Lee Cattermole slides in on Leicester's Riyad Mahrez in the box and gets nothing but man. Easy penalty call for Mason, who correctly points to the spot.

Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham          Referee: Jonathan Moss
Everton 2-2 Watford                                Referee: Mike Jones
Bournemouth 0-1 Aston Villa                 Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Arsenal 0-2 West Ham                            Referee: Martin Atkinson
Newcastle 2-2 Southampton                    Referee: Craig Pawson
Stoke City 0-1 Liverpool                         Referee: Anthony Taylor
West Brom 0-1 Manchester City             Referee: Mike Dean
These seven referees had good matches with little controversy. Nice work by them and their crews.

MLS Week 23 Reports: Kelly seeing double with two very similar yellow cards

Montreal 1-1 New York Red Bulls         Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)
Unkel had a difficult game in Montreal on Wednesday and one of his calls caught my attention.
79th Minute: Montreal's Laurnet Ciman, already booked, attempts a sliding tackle on Sal Zizzo. Ciman appears to get at least some of the ball, but Unkel disagrees and shows Ciman his second yellow. I think that the tackle warranted a foul but not a yellow. So in my book, Unkel was a little too harsh here.

Toronto 4-1 Orlando                                Referee: Silviu Petrescu (Canada)
Petrescu had one big call to make in this high scoring affair and I agree with his decision.
11th Minute: Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco is hacked down in the box by Aurrelien Collin. Petrescu quickly points to the spot, and for me it's a no-brainer. That was about as clear a penalty as you can get.

Portland 1-0 Chicago                                Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Villarreal had a quiet game with little controversy. Nice work by the young referee and his crew.

Toronto 1-3 Kansas City                           Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Geiger made his first penalty call since his poor penalty decision in the Gold Cup, and this time I think he got it right.
20th Minute: Sporting KC Defender Kevin Ellis jumps up for a high cross but gets enough of a shoulder tug from Ahmed Kantari to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Geiger points to the spot and I agree. Great spot to see the shoulder tug from Kantari.

Orlando 0-0 Philadelphia                          Referee: Allen Chapman (United States)
Chapman didn't see any controversy in what was a quiet match for him and his crew.

Montreal 0-1 DC United                           Referee: Sorin Stoica (United States)
Stoica continued a successful campaign with a good performance in this match. Nothing to go in depth on from this one.

Houston 2-1 San Jose                                Referee: Fotis Bazakos (United States)
This was a reasonably quiet match for Bazakos, with only one call to look from his performance
60th Minute: San Jose's Fatai Alashe is already booked when he holds Giles Barnes on a Houston counterattack. Bazakos shows a second yellow, which was clearly warranted as the foul stopped a promising attack. Good call by Bazakos.

Colorado 1-2 Columbus                            Referee: Alan Kelly (Ireland)
Two situations to look from this match for Kelly, both involving fouls by Colorado defender Axel Sjoberg.
50th Minute: Kei Kamara of Columbus appears to be pretty much through on goal when he is pulled down from behind by Sjoberg. Kelly opts for a yellow, but I would've liked to have seen a red for Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity. The only reason it wouldn't be DOGSO for Kelly is because he might have judged that due to the 40 yards of space between Kamara and the goal, a defender could have caught up.
90th Minute: Kamara is again attacking forward when he is pulled back by Sjoberg. This time Sjoberg does see red via a second yellow for stopping a promising attack. This was a very similar situation to the Alashe second yellow in Houston-San Jose, and just like Fotis Bazakos, Kelly correctly showed a second yellow.

Kelly shows Sjoberg the red card

Vancouver 4-0 Real Salt Lake                   Referee: Chris Penso (United States)
Penso had two big calls to make in this match, and I agree with both of his decisions.
6th Minute: Elias Vazquez of Salt Lake pushes Octavio Rivero in the box as a set piece is being played in. Penso points to the spot and the only argument against the call is that players push each other all the time on set pieces. Based on that logic, it isn't called enough. Good job by Penso.
88th Minute: Abdoulie Mansally of RSL goes in with his studs exposed on Kendall Watson's plant leg after he kicks a long ball forward. Clear red for Penso, who correctly gives Mansally his marching orders.

Los Angeles 3-1 Seattle                            Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)
It was a quiet game for Marrufo in this high profile match. Nothing to in depth on from this one.

New York Red Bulls 2-0 NYCFC             Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Elfath had a good game with little controversy. Nice work by him and his crew.

Thanks for reading!

Joel Aguilar is our July referee of the Month

Aguilar

Joel Aguilar of El Salvador was awarded our Referee of the Month award for July after keeping good control of the final after what had been a tough tournament for CONCACAF referees. Aguilar's good performance was much needed for CONCACAF after poor displays from Walter Lopez and Mark Geiger in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Congratulations to Aguilar as we wish him luck for the future.

MLS Week 22 Reports: PKs and red cards galore

NYCFC 2-3 Montreal                             Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Rivero had a busy match, calling 2 penalties, only one of which I agree with.
68th Minute: Thomas McNamara of NYCFC goes down in the box after a challenge by Ambroise Oyongo. Rivero whistles for a penalty but it looks like a clean challenge to me, as Oyongo clearly gets the ball. Play on would have been a better call in my book.
84th Minute: Montreal's Ignacio Piatti has a shot saved from point blank rage by keeper Josh Saunders. As Piatti goes for the rebound he suddenly goes down in front of Saunders. Rivero calls a penalty, and after seeing a replay I agree. Saunders clearly grabbed Piatti's ankle to stop him from getting to the ball. Great spot by Rivero.

DC United 6-4 Real Salt Lake                 Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Toledo surprisingly only had one big call in this match, despite the 6-4 scoreline.
43rd Minute: RSL's Devon Sandoval pulls back on Bobby Boswell's collar on a corner kick being played into the area. Toledo makes no hesitation in pointing to the spot and I agree. Clear foul by Sandoval and an easy call for Toledo.

Philadelphia 1-3 New York Red Bulls     Referee: Armando Villarreal
Villarreal also called a penalty in his match but it was a much more controversial call then Toledo's.
65th Minute: Tranquillo Barnetta of Philly runs into the back of Sean Wright-Phillips in the box and Villarreal points to the spot. Union fans will argue that Wright-Phillips went down too easily but I'm with Villarreal on this one. Barnetta clearly knocked Wright-Phillips over, so whether Wright-Phillips sold it or not is irrelevant to whether it is a penalty or not.

New England 3-1 Toronto                        Referee: Chris Penso
Much like his fellow referees this weekend, Penso had a busy game, calling a penalty and showing a red card.
39th Minute: Toronto Forward Jozy Altidore gets tangled up with Jose Goncalves and then kicks the Revs defender. Penso shows red and for me it's a no-brainer. No place for kick outs on any level of football.
43rd Minute: Damien Perquis of Toronto pulls down Kelyn Rowe from the side on a set piece ball into the box. Pretty easy call for Penso, who correctly awards the Revolution a penalty kick.

Penso sends Altidore off

Orlando 5-2 Columbus                            Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Salazar was one of the few referees who didn't call a penalty or show a red card. Nothing to see from this one.

Kansas City 1-1 Houston                         Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Gonzalez had two critical calls to make and I agree with one of his two decisions.
86th Minute: Nathan Sturgis of Houston makes a cynical rough sliding challenge on Roger Espinoza, injuring the SKC midfielder. Gonzalez sends Sturgis off and I agree since the foul clearly endangered Espinoza's safety.
94th Minute: Houston's Sheanon Williams clearly handballs the ball in his own box in an attempt to control the ball. Gonzalez fails to whistle the obvious penalty. Big mistake by the veteran referee.

Colorado 1-3 Los Angeles                       Referee: Juan Guzman
Guzman had a good performance with no controversy. Nice work by him and his crew.

Seattle 0-3 Vancouver                              Referee: Mark Geiger
Geiger, in his first match since his tough Gold Cup semifinal, didn't see any controversy in this match.  Nice job by the top American ref as he works to restore his reputation.

San Jose 0-0 Portland                               Referee: Kevin Stott
Stott had one big penalty decision to make in this game and I agree with his judgement.
74th Minute: San Jose's Shaun Francis trips up Diego Valeri in the box. Stott whistles for a penalty and I agree since Francis appeared to get Valeri's ankle and not the ball. Good call by 20-year MLS referee.

Chicago 2-0 Dallas                                  Referee: Jair Marrufo
Marrufo had a busy game, showing a red card and calling a penalty at Toyota Park.
79th Minute: Matt Watson of Chicago slides in on Rolando Escobar, sending his studs into the ankles of the Dallas midfielder. Marrufo shows Watson a red card, which draws no complaints for me. Anytime you go in with your studs up you put yourself in danger of a yellow.
83rd Minute: Chicago's Kennedy Igboananike is dribbling out of the Dallas box when he appears to be clipped by Kellyn Acosta. Marrufo immediately calls a penalty and I agree because even though Igboananike sells it to the extreme, there still was enough contact to warrant a spot kick.

NOTE: All referees are American, hence the lack of national identification. Thanks for reading!