This labor dispute is about a lot more than whether the right calls are made in the right moments, and could tell us a lot about the current state of the league.
As Major League Soccer’s lockout of its referees began Sunday, after news broke on Saturday that the Professional Soccer Referees Association rejected a tentative agreement with the Professional Referees Organization on Saturday, the attitude among many fans was indifference — or worse.
Match officials are rarely the most popular people on the pitch. But the 2023 MLS season ended with a few highly visible incidents involving referees in the playoffs. (Think Vanni Sartini, Matt Miazga and Erik Sviatchenko). And the sentiment among some fans who lack faith in MLS officiating is there is an unlikely to be a noticeable drop off in quality if and when replacement referees take charge, beginning with Wednesday’s season opener between Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake.
But this labor dispute is about a lot more than whether the right calls are made in the right moments. And there’s reasons even the most referee-skeptical of fans should care about this work stoppage. Here’s three of the biggest:1) The Lockout Is A Data Point
There are scant few reliable and neutral indicators to show outsiders the true health of MLS, a reality that has only become more true since the league struck its 10-year, worldwide-streaming deal with Apple TV that started with the 2023 season.
Player salaries are only disclosed month after the season begins, and reliant on information published by the MLS Players Union.
