My thoughts after refereeing England & Germany!

Damn! Damn! Damn!

I'm so upset. It's the knock out round and I'm refereeing some power playing countries in the World Cup. This game is a sport where the most beautiful goals are remembered for eternity. Unfortunately, this one game will be remembered for the goal that didn't count.

I should have gone with my gut, blew the whistle and awarded a goal to England! I looked straight into my Assistant Referee's eyes and he gave me the signal he couldn't tell. After the game he said, he wasn't sure because of the angle. I believe him. He was in the right position on lined up with the second to the last defender for offsides, but the shot was so quick, none of us was expecting it. So when the keeper fell to the ground after diving, that should have been my first clue because when he fell his head was on the goal line and the ball landed behind his head from my angle, therefore logic would have indicated the ball had to fall behind the goal line. The problem is I couldn't see the ball behind the goal line, my AR would have had a better angle. The second clue was the goal keeper for Germany moved way too fast to the ball and did not miss a beat after the ball struck the post. If I had blown the whistle I could at least have taken a second to think about it and if I discussed with my AR that it was not a goal, I would have called for a drop ball. We could have analyzed the behavior of the players in moments. Our job as referees are to get it right!

This one I didn't get it right. If we had just one additional referee watching for video replays to help us get it right? Maybe it would help the game. Maybe not. Anyhow this was a tough one.

"Daddy, Daddy! Why are you crying in your sleep?" Huh! Oh I'm sorry honey, bad dream! Just a bad dream, sweetie!"

What was the call?

"It should have been a goal," says ESPN Analysts. "I'm a disgrace, says that wannabe analyst Alexi Lalas.
"The referee blew the call!" says another critic.
Sports Illustrated Peter King calls me "incompetent!"
Other media reports say I blew the game for the U.S.

Millions of people who were staring at TVs and the web around the world are still asking and want to know, What was the call?" I made when Maurice Edu kicked the ball into the net after receiving a pass from Landon Donovan on a free kick in the 86th minute of the game.

I will answer that, but first I want to say the game was not decided by me. I am a soccer referee responsible for enforcing the laws of the game. I do not decide which team wins or loses. That's not what I do, and we referees do not declare who's victorious.

I am experienced and professional. But I am also human and imperfect. When the U.S. players were asking me at the end of the game, "What did you call!" My eyes were focused on the ground. I was walking backward and keeping them at a distance. I wanted to tell them what the call was, but per our guidelines and instructions with FIFA, we cannot speak about the game after it is over. We cannot talk to reporters,and it's strongly recommended that we do not speak to players and move on. I was not being rude or disrespectful. I was just abiding by the rules that were bestowed upon me.

When Landon Donovan kicked the ball on a free kick and it was crossing into a crowd of men with blue and white jerseys. I could have sworn, I saw men in the blue jerseys and white jerseys grabbing, hugging and pulling on each other, I decided to hold the whistle, which means not to blow it, and play the advantage which means recognize you saw something, but let the play-play out.

So when Edu kicked the ball into the net, I blew the whistle signaling a foul and a direct kick. It wasn't offsides or even close to that. The call was holding, I looked straight into the eyes of Michael Bradley and saw him being held, but for that split second, I thought Bradley was holding the Slovenia defender. "I screwed up!" The Slovenia player was holding Bradley. I could have taken a moment and acknowledged it was an inadvertent whistle blown and then call a drop ball. This is when I would identify one player from each team to come to a spot on the field where play was stopped and drop the ball and play commences. But that may have been a real cop out and made matters worse, because I'm now acknowledging I made a huge mistake and that definitely would not have gone over well with FIFA. So I just called a free kick for Slovenia to bring the ball an get us to start the play quickly.

I feel horrible, but again the game was not lost because of me. If the U.S. would have played in the first half as well as they played in the second half, the U.S. wouldn't have had to allow a so-called controversial call affect the outcome of the game. "I didn't lose this game for the U.S."

As for me, what happens next? I've got an unexpected early trip back home. Our supervisor says I apparently cracked under pressure, lost control of the game and appeared to have been distracted and not focused. I called a hand ball against U.S. striker Findley when the ball struck his face and neck, but he didn't deliberately use his hand to come in contact with the ball. I gave it to him for unsporting behavior because I thought he deliberately used his hand. My supervisor of assessors was wondering why I gave Findley a yellow card. What also threw me off about that call is that Findley's arm was in an unnatural position, so that's why I called handling.

Being sent home from the World Cup is an awful feeling. I've been sent home and told my services are no longer needed. I now have increased security as a precaution with me provided by FIFA and I let my peers down. Oh well, at least I can say my game will live in history for infamy.

"ZZZZZZZZ" "ZZZZZZZZZZ" Ding Dong! "Honey," my wife yells "can you get the doorbell please?" "Someone's at the door!"

Goalkeepers & Red Cards equal lots of Drama!

Well we just finished refereeing the host nation South Africa against Uruguay and we are drained. As we sit in the locker room, me, Bryan, Wayne and Anthony, we see him. Oh! Oh! Here he comes walking through the doorway between the security guards. It's Jeff our assessor. An assessor is a sort of referee supervisor FIFA provides to really give us feed back on how we did. He tells us what we did good and what we could improve on.



The first thing Jeff, the assessor, does is ask me how do I feel about sending off the goalkeeper for South Africa the host nation of the World Cup and do I think I made the right call?

I said without hesitation. "Absolutely yes!" Jeff's response was "very good, because you were dead on!" Jeff then added you should be proud because as a team you all did great refereeing and you'll have your next assignment later in the evening. Jeff then left the room.

As my team of officials went and took showers, all I could do was reflect on the game and the fact that I sent off goal keeper. The first time in recent memory this has occurred.

It was in the 76 minute, the score was 1-0 Uruguay ahead. I was running in the area of just outside the top of the penalty area, which most people call the penalty box. A Uruguay midfielder had possession of the ball. He took a shot but it deflected off a South African defender just to the left side of the penalty area if you are facing the goal keeper. Because I was already in possession, i looked at Bryan, my assistant referee on the far side first. He did not raise his flag, so I knew there were no offsides involved. A split second later Luis Suarez of Uruguay touches the ball then South Africa's goalkeeper Khune spreads his leg towards the direction of the ball, but clips the leg of Suarez and down Suarez goes. Clearly embellishing from the contact, but I look beyond that.

I ask myself, did I just see what occurred? "yes!"

The first thing I did was blow the whistle as I was running towards the point Suarez was clipped. The second thing I knew I had to do was point in the direction of the mark(the point of 12 yards from the goal line where a penalty kick is taken). My gesture of point to the "mark!" indicates to all on the field and my referee team that I'm calling a foul for tripping and because it occurred in the penalty area, I must then reward Uruguay with a penalty kick. At that moment, Bryan sprints over to the end line of South Africa between the 6th and 18 yard line to be in position of the penalty kick. Bryan quick comes to attention and holds his flag on his left side standing at attention. During pregame discussion, Bryan is aware that his job will be to see if the ball crosses the line or if the goalkeeper infringes on the pk and we'll have to do it again.

Anyhow, seconds later, I can feel my heartbeat racing and adrenalin pumping because i know what the next step is after I pointed to the mark. Because of my experience I know I have to do something that is not favorable, but I have to do what I have to do.

But now everything is happening so quickly and I feel a hand grab my right forearm. It was a player for South Africa pleading for mercy. I pull my hand swiftly away but still keep walking focus on South Africa's goal keeper. I reach to my left pocket first, but realize that's a yellow card. Nope I tell myself. I then reach to my right pocket and with a firm and concentrated gesture, "Bam!" I pull out the dreaded and feared red card into the air standing about 5 feet from the South Africa's goal keeper Khune signaling he is being sent off. I stand a distance to prepare for any sort of reaction. One of my ref friends got punched twice and kicked after issuing a read card, so you have to be careful.

I verbally tell the captain of the South African team who's asking me why? why? I said "denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal. The South African Team Captain said, "but he was going for the ball!" and "we had a defender nearby!" I said that is not the case. I looked at Bryan, we made eye contact and he confirmed my decision with the wink of an eye.

Now Khune is yelling, "you're the worst referee ever!" I ignore him. Now Khune is on his knees lowering his head and pounding his two fists to the ground angrily in disbelief but I tell him he's got to go! So what happens next? So we wait and now I'm surrounded by half of South Africa's team, but they are respectful. They're asking me, "wasn't that excessive?" "Couldn't you have give us some mercy!" "How about a yellow!" I say who's leaving the field in addition to the goalkeeper. The reason is a player on the field has to leave because when a team experiences a red card, that same team must play short, but when it's a goalkeeper who receives the red card, a field player must also depart. Because the rules say a team must have an identified goalkeeper, a player from the field must be chosen to step off the field.

As I sit back with my head tilted back on the wall, eyes closed, I feel a nudge on my shoulder. What is it? What.. I open my eyes and see my beautiful and loving wife. "Honey!" did you fall a sleep again? Can you please drive me to work!"

Rick's Red Card!

It's Day 3 of the World Cup and my feet are literally in a tub of ice right now because they are so swollen, swollen beyond belief, but that's okay. It's an honor that FIFA has assigned me to be a referee again. This time like none other, was an extremely busy day for us with our cards. Yes, cards. Not playing cards from a deck, I'm talking our yellow and red cards. In all three games today we issued 3 red cards and numerous yellow cards to players for violating the Laws of the game.

This is the first time there have been red cards in three different games on a single day in World Cup history.

We were issuing yellow and red cards like crazy and I truly feel we were dead on with all of our calls. One of our biggest responsibilities is to control the match by enforcing the Laws of the Game. for you soccer novice, this just means make sure everyone abides by the rules!

For anyone who doesn't understand why a referee issues a yellow and or red card, let me explain.

The cards are used to communicate. A yellow card communicates that a player has been cautioned for an offense. What's an offense? I'll get to that in a moment.

A red card is used to communicate that a player has been sent off. What's sent off? Ejected! Leave the field! Go home! not just off the field, but the area, which means you cannot be on the sideline or in the stands watching.

Today was a tough day, not just because we have the power and duty to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match, but we love the game. We grew up playing, watching and some even refereeing. We want players to participate but we will not tolerate the nonsense we saw today. There's no excuse for that kind of behavior.

Let me give you a very brief explanation why we issue yellow cards & red cards.

Yellow cards are to communicate any of the 7 caution able offenses;
1.)unsporting behavior,
2.) dissent by word or action,
3.) persistent infringement (which means if members of one team keeps consistently committing a foul repeatedly.)
4.)delaying the restart of a play,
5.)failure to respect the required distance when play is restarted with a corner kick, free kick or throw in,
6.)entering or re-entering the field of play w/o the referee's permission.
7.)deliberately leaving the field of play w/o the referee's permission.

Red cards are to communicate a player being sent off(ejected from the game). Red cards can be given for the following 7 offenses also:
1.)serious foul play,
2.)violent conduct (like fighting),
3.)spitting at an opponent or any other person, "including the referee!"
4.)denying the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball(doesn't apply to the goalkeeper if he's in his penalty area)
5.)denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offense punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick,
6.)using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures,
7.)receiving a second caution in the same match.

To understand exactly what a referee For us to really get the call right, we had to be close to the play at least within 10 yards of the ball. And if one of us didn't see it as the center referee, then we had to rely on one of our assistant referees. If I didn't see the infraction because my view was blocked as the center referee, then I had to rely on my assistant and trust he saw it.

Perfect example was in today's Serbia vs. Ghana's game. Bryan was the center referee, he was sprinting quickly on a diagonal line of the field. I was the Assistant Referee #1 sprinting along the sideline on a quick counter attack by Serbia. Serbia midfielder kicked the ball across the field about 40 yards into the penalty area where Serbia team mate Zdravko Kuzmanovic played the ball with his hand, which is illegal. I looked Bryan, who was finishing his sprint to the area of the infraction and we made eye contact. Bryan looked at me with that puzzled look, did Kuzmanovic really play the ball with his hands in the penalty area, I answered Bryan's glance with my action of raising my flag wiggling the top and point the direction of Ghana's attack awarding a free kick and because it was in the penalty area, that meant a penalty kick. Bryan quickly signaled it was a penalty kick and issued a caution to Kuzmanovic. I sprinted to my position on the end line and you guys know the result. Ghana scored thus winning the game 1-0.

The other dramatic moment in the game was when we sent Aleksandar Lukovic of Serbia for holding an opponent's arm to gain advantage. We issued a yellow card in the 74th minute for unsporting behavior and because it was his second, we had to issue the red.


I was the center referee today in the Germany vs. Australia game and man, I was really under the gun. I knew that this was going to be fast pace and physical.
My colleague Bryan who was the center ref doing the Ghana vs. Serbia game was now my 4th official because I wanted his strenghts at managing the emotions of the teams on the bench. Then Wayne who was the center referee for the Algeria vs. Slovenia game would be one of my AR's and Anthony was the other. FIFA said we were the best crew and that they needed us again, but they were going to rotate us to alleviate some of the pressure the center referee has to deal with.

Being a center referee is no joke, perfect example today was when I sent off Australia's Tim Cahill for serious foul play. I got criticized on network TV from an analysis saying it was a yellow. Gimme a break, Cahill slid in from behind, had no chance for the ball and slid into the back legs of a German player who could have suffered a broken leg. That was a serious foul play to me and immediately a red card was issued! I was very consistent through out the game including issuing two yellow cards to German players for unsporting behavior as they were taking dives(faking like physical contact was made by their opponent pleading for a call from the referee.)

It didn't work and I felt I was very fair in officiating that game.

Even in the Slovenia vs. Algeria game, we issued 4 yellow cards and we had to eject Algeria substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal after he received his second yellow card for playing the ball with his hands inside the Slovenian penalty area. He was arguing with us it wasn't on purpose, but we felt he used his hand deliberately and thus was issued a second yellow followed by a red. There was no doubt in our minds!

Just as players have confidence, we are trained with confidence in our decisions!

At our post meeting we were discussing the nature of the games today and

...."Daddy, please wake up, Daddy please, it's time for you to take us to daycare!"

My thoughts after refereeing the U.S. vs. England Game

Now that I finished refereeing the South America vs. Mexico game with my fantastic crew and the game ended in a 1-1 tie, I had little time to rest because FIFA said you guys were so great, we need you to ref the highly anticipated U.S. vs. England match.

"Wow!" I said, then I followed, who do you want as the center referee? They said me! I was so excited. I told myself inside, this can't be possible. This is just an incredible dream! Don't pinch me, I don't want to wake up. Every referee gets the adrenalin rush when they get a great assignment but I felt it odd, that they would allow me to ref the game given I'm a U.S. Citizen. Normally FIFA (the International Football Federation that organizes the tournament)does not allow a referee to officiate a World Cup game if he's a citizen of one of the countries playing. This is done to avoid any potential conflict of interest and avoid protest.

FIFA allowed me to ref because they were also impressed in watching me the way I was sprinting up and down the field when Trinidad & Tobago played the U.S. in a qualifying match in Nashville, TN. That's the picture you see above. And do you see that little guy in the lower right hand corner of the still photo? Guess Who's that?

Though the US and England game ended 1-1, I should have anticipated more how physical the game was going to be. I felt I had a great pre-game discussion with my team. Wayne was my AR-1 (Assistant Referee 1), Bryan was my AR-2, Anthony was going to be the 4th official. Wayne replaced Jeff who twisted his ankle in the parking lot and it became very swollen. Bad luck for him. I decided let's where our red referee colored Jerseys.

Like I said, I wish the game wasn't as physical as it was, but it seemed none of the players complained after the game, so it was in my opinion a successful match of officiating. I did feel really bad when England's forward Emile Heskey slid and collided with USA's goalkeeper Tim Howard. I mean Heskey's foot cleats up slid on the grown striking Howard full force into his sternum. I immediately blew the whistle realizing how hurt he was, but also realized it was a 50-50 ball, meaning both players made a play for the ball and neither were in possession to get there before the other. Some say, why didn't I call dangerous play because Heskey's cleats were up and award the US an indirect free kick? I decided in a split second that was not the case and I wouldn't have changed my mind if the same thing happened again.

The cards I issued for the tactical fouls such as when the US's Findley placed his foot right on the ankle of his English opponent clearly causing apparent severe pain deserved a yellow card(caution). Findley received it for unsporting behavior. Sort of like a penalty in American Football when an NFL ref calls unsportsmanlike conduct. I just wished I had given more cards earlier on during the game because it was so intense later on the game. The TV cameras just couldn't pick up the energy and intensity on the field the way my referee team was feeling. It was obvious, neither team wanted to lose or back down. I had to call a couple charging, trip pings and of course the ever so popular offsides.

I still remember when Clint Dempsey took that shot at England's goalkeeper Robert Green, I said to myself okay, routine shot on goal, keeper will collect it and then get it out, but when the ball rolled off his hands and behind him, I quickly glanced at Wayne. He was running into position, ran to the end line and then sprinted 10 yards up the touch line, which was his way to communicate with me that the goal was good as we discussed during pre-game warm up.

Now that the game was 1-1, I told the entire crew,let's tighten it up. The game is about to get real intense. Even Anthony was busier than normal because one of the English defenders caught a bloody nose and I told him to leave the field. He kept giving me lip like, "What? What?" I said you have blood on your lip take care of it and then see my AR before I allow you back in. Because I wanted the game to quickly continue, I told Anthony, who was my fouth official to come around and take this player away, so I can the game rolling again.

I did get a big kick when I blew the whistle before one corner kick and told both teams to stop shoving each in the penalty area before the corner kick. They did not want to risk either a penalty kick or yellow card caution on an attacker.

Also what was challenging to see was the shirt pulling like what Michael Bradley did during a corner kick that television replays kept showing. Sometimes, I hate our technology of replays being shown over and over again, but oh well, that's life!

Anyhow I will do a better job of watching for when the defenders pull on the attackers shorts, or when the attackers are fouled by the midfielders from the opposing team.

All in all, we did a great job! "Daddy, Daddy, are you dreaming again! Please wake up, wake up and tell me a bed time story! "It's time to go to bed!"

Getting ready for the opening match!

It's the night before the big game. The opening match that I am responsible for officiating with my crew. We're a total of four. I'm in the Center. One of my assistant referees will be on one side of the field. My second assistant referee will be on the other side on what we call a diagonal. Then my fourth ref will be at the touchline where it intersects at midfield assisting me with substitutions and making sure the players behave on the bench.

We're all having dinner and going over preparations before the big game in the morning. Salads and water we're having. We've got to stay fit! The game is at 10a est, so we'll arrive at the field at 8a.

It's what dreams are made of. Refereeing the opening match of the 2010 World Cup. Host nation South Africa vs. Mexico. Please don't pinch me I don't want to wake up.

I tell my crew, ignore the rumors that we wouldn't call the game fair because South Africa is the host. I tell my crew, we will work as a team ourselves providing the best application of what all football refs know as "The Laws of the Game!" The rules of the sport.

I look to Bryan, you're responsible for the flags. Jeff: I need you to bring the back up set of flags. Anthony, you're responsible for checking their uniforms making sure their jerseys, including the goal keepers don't clash with ours. Anthony check the balls making sure they are good, air pressure included. They must have the tournament emblem on them.

Guys: We're going to have to concentrate and keep up. Let's make constant eye contact. I'll have the game card, yellow cards and red cards. I'll also bring the coin for the coin toss. I'll have two watches on each wrist in case on fails. Bryan: I'll need you to do the same. We must be prepared.

To my AR's, (my assistant referees) you're responsible for signaling offsides to me with your flags. if a foul is committed in your quadrant and I don't see it, raise your flag, wiggle the top and point the direction of the team that is awarded the free kick.

If a goal is scored and it's good, I need each of you to run to the end and sprint up the sideline 10 yards. This will tell me, the goal is good and there are no problems. If the goal is not good, just stand at attention and indicate the infraction.

Guys: This is our moment! Our goal is not to be notice. This is South Africa's & Mexico's game! Let's use my strategy of the L.A.S.E.R. System to be absolutely focus! We must Listen. Assess. Support each other. Execute the Laws of the game and be Responsible.

"Ouch!" "Daddy, Daddy! Can you take us to bed? you fell a sleep on the couch and it's bed time!

More to come!

Dream of refereeing a World Cup!

I'm living the dream as a media journalist for a major network often times getting to write, edit and even broadcast at times, but I also wanted to live the dream as a World Cup Soccer referee once, but the closest I'll come to that experience is right here blogging about it.

Boy I wish I was in South Africa getting ready to officiate the biggest games of many professional players lives, but the closest I'll come to that experience is refereeing Men's & Women's amateur games on Sundays as a certified state referee under the United States Soccer Federation and watching the World Cup Refs operate magically and efficiently on TV.

So for the next 30 days from June 11-July 11, I invite you to come be part of my dream right here, right now as I imagine myself stepping on the pitch with my crew getting ready for the biggest and possibly most watched sporting event most of the world sees or talks about every four years!

Throughout the next 30 days of the World Cup, I hope to engage you in discussion and offer what little insight I could of the sport of soccer, it's laws of the game and answer any questions you may have. Maybe you want to understand the rules, maybe you want to know why a call was made, or why a call wasn't made?

I will do my best to help you understand how cool and unique it is for a referee to manage 22 gladiators representing the pride of their country on their shoulders.

I get chills just thinking about it as the games approach in less than 18 hours and 19 minutes from now.

Of course I know I don't know everything, but the wonderful thing I'm happy to say that I do know is I know a lot of people who know so much more than I do!