MLS replacement referees have some seeing red

With Major League Soccer entering its fifth week of games this weekend, it also marks the fifth week of replacement referees amid the ongoing dispute between the Professional Soccer Referees Association union and Professional Referee Organization.

Although MLS said it is "pleased" with the replacement referees' performance, things have felt a little off with the refereeing the past four weeks. When gauging officiating, though, there's an easy measurement to point to: red cards.

Last weekend, replacement referees handed out a whopping six red cards, with 12 issued overall this season. Eighty-four red cards were issued during the 2023 season. At the current rate, with 33 matchdays remaining, that's 111 red cards for the course of a season.

Referees issue red cards for serious violations of rules. A player who receives a red card is ejected from the match and cannot be replaced.

Red cards themselves do not necessarily point to poor officiating, but to have this many in a short span indicates something is off.

A confusing situation with the Seattle Sounders exemplified part of the issue. 

Late in Saturday's game against the Colorado Rapids, Sounders forward Raul Ruidiaz was mistakenly shown a red card by a referee who apparently thought Ruidiaz already had a yellow. The referee corrected the mistake and changed the card, but he later said the card, which was shown in Ruidiaz's direction, was actually for Seattle's coach, Brian Schmetzer.

The messy situation led Sounders midfielder and captain Cristian Roldan to criticize the officiating.

"Overall, for me, it needs to be better," Roldan said, per Goal.com. "We need the best quality on the field."

The PSRA union called the situation with the replacement referees "untenable."

There are a few possibilities for the slew of red cards. Beyond basic referee error, as in Ruidiaz's case, there could also be officials who overstate or overestimate the severity of a breach of rules. Referees also control the dynamic of the game. If a game slowly spirals out their control and players get bolder as emotions run hot, a player might end up with a red card foul as a natural escalation.

Several of the red cards issued Saturday came in the final minutes of the game — past the 85th minute part or deep in second-half stoppage time. The end of a game is often a chaotic and heated point, which may have affected the call. 

All of these, though, point to the referees directly. It's hard to look at a gameday like Saturday and not think that the replacement referees are not holding up to MLS-quality officiating.

This is not the first time for a PRO lockout. A similar union dispute led to replacement referees being used for the first two weeks of the 2014 season. But the 2024 lockout is stretching on much longer than the one 10 years ago, so we might be stuck with replacements for awhile.