Major League Soccer believes its referees get a bad rap. But while MLS executive vice president of competition Nelson Rodriguez says the league’s officiating doesn’t get the credit it deserves, MLS and U.S. Soccer have formed the Professional Referee Organization to manage and increase the development of officials in North America.
Rodriguez said the creation of PRO is about the readiness, quality and evaluation of officials, whose overall growth has been outpaced by MLS, which begins its 17th season this weekend with 19 teams. The new company will be managed by veteran English referee Peter Walton, who benefitted from the professionalization of the trade in his home country. Of course, what teams, players and fans care about is the whistle.
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“What we have found is that our officials, in terms of the accuracy of their calls is extraordinarily high, certainly within parameters that would suggest world class,” Rodriguez said.
Infrastructure is a start, but only measures of performance will determine whether PRO succeeds in its mission.
– Craig Stouffer
