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MLS sent memos to TV and radio broadcasters this weekend not to “underplay the issue” when addressing the deadlock between the Professional Football Referees Association (PSRA) and the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), according to a memo obtained by Athletics and verified by multiple sources familiar with MLS broadcast operations.
“Fans tune in to watch and listen to the game,” the memo read in part. “They are not focused on officials; therefore, we do not believe it is necessary to process the point during the match. It’s best to mention the situation in the foreplay and move on.”
The document also included a summary of the negotiations and instructed broadcasters to refer to substitute referees only as “referees, no other description needed”, other than their name, where they are from and their official experience.
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MLS executives ‘pleased’ with substitute referees
The memorandum included “example language” on how to describe situations, including the absence of VAR announcements in the stadium/broadcast, the implementation of which is among the new official initiatives (including those related to time-wasting) with presentations that have been delayed due to congestion. Commentators were also told they were welcome to “agree or disagree” with any questionable call, but the memo stressed not to imply that the replacement referees were “the reason for the questionable call.”
An MLS spokesman did not immediately respond AthleticsRequest for comment on Sunday.
MLS manages the production of its game-day broadcasts in partnership with IMG as part of the league’s 10-year, $2.5 billion media rights deal with Apple that began last year. The deal makes broadcasts of its MLS-produced games, via the Season Pass service on Apple TV, available to most of the world in English, Spanish, and occasionally French and Portuguese. Some games are simulcast in the United States on the FOX networks with commentators other than those offered on the Season Pass.
GO DEEPER
The referee of the Inter Miami match is replaced after the discovery of photos with the Inter Miami shirt
Officiating has been a central topic of conversation during the start of the MLS season. This weekend, PRO replaced the central referee assigned to Inter Miami vs. Orlando City the game hours before the start because photos of the official in an Inter Miami jersey surfaced this winter. Athletics also reported that MLS executives were ‘pleased with performance’ of substitute referees on the opening weekend.
PRO closed out PSRA-represented officials on February 18 after a pair of temporary extensions to the previous labor agreement between PRO and PSRA expired and PSRA’s membership rejected the initial proposal put together by negotiators. MLS continued to meet replacement referees for the league’s curtain raiser on February 21, all other opening weekends, and they have continued into the second weekend of the season.
(Photo: Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
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