Refereeing is part of the game
Oct 19, 2012, 5:57 PM | Updated: 6:00 pm
By Sigi Schmid
I know the blog is late this week, but I wanted to include the Salt Lake game results with this one. I am very proud of our team, which battled and played through the adversity of playing a man down and dealt with so many defenders who were injured.
Mike Seamon in his first action of the season did a great job, and Brad Evans filled in well as a center back. Michael Gspurning saved our bacon at the end of the game with some great saves.
But I do want to clarify the situation with the referee.
As a coach – and especially as coach of the Sounders – I know that refereeing is part of the game. I know there are good calls and bad calls and they tend to even out over the course of a season. We also are not a team that blames results on the outcomes of those decisions. When we play we need to use or overcome those decisions, but at the end of the day the game result is up to us, no one else. As a team we completely understand that.
On Wednesday, there was a misconception that I was unhappy about the red card to Zach Scott and that was the reason for my upset. I felt the first card was harsh but overall I did not have a lot of issues with the red card.
My issues were that there was no red card issued for the last-man foul on the RSL defender and the lack of a yellow when Evans in the second half and Christian Tiffert in the first half were pulled as they tried to run through. Very similar in nature to the first yellow for Scott. The consistency factor is important, and as a coach I need to fight for my team, which I do.
I apologize for protesting too loudly at halftime and after the game. It is an emotional game and emotion got the best of me. But it is important to remember two things:
1. We control our destiny, not the referee. That is how we approach every game.
2. I will always stand up for my team and push for consistency within a game that is officiated.
We play Dallas on Sunday and the earlier result in Vancouver will determine the complete importance of this game. We need a win to catch RSL. Come cheer us on. We need you and we appreciate you as always.
Take care.