MLS said it will start its season on Saturday with
replacement referees after an impasse between the league's referees and their
employer, the Professional Referees Organization, forced a lockout.
MLS and PRO said the lockout of referees belonging to the
Professional Soccer Referees Association took effect at 11 a.m. on Friday,
according to Steve Taylor, the union’s vice president.
"Although it is regrettable that the Professional
Soccer Referees Association rejected PRO’s offer to continue with the current
referees while negotiations continue, we have great confidence in the plan for
replacement referees that PRO has put in place," said Mark Abbott, MLS
president and deputy commissioner.
The two sides have been attempting to hammer out a
collective bargaining agreement since last year, but have not been able to
agree on a host of economic and non-economic issues.
Denny Medley/USA TODAY SportsMLS is poised to start season
with replacement referees after an impasse in CBA negotiations.
The lockout appears to be preemptive, in that that union had
voted last month 64-1 to authorize its board to call a strike whenever it
deemed it to be appropriate.
"As chair of the negotiating committee I am deeply
saddened by PRO and Major League Soccer’s decision to lockout its officials in
advance of the beginning of what could be a historic MLS season," Taylor
said via email.
"PSRA has worked tirelessly to reach an agreement,
however we have been met with resistance since the beginning being forced to
seek relief from the National Labor Relations Board on charges of bad faith
bargaining and management threats against our Officials. Those charges remain
pending."
The replacement referees come from a group that includes
FIFA referees who have moved to North America from overseas, retired MLS
referees, and referees from other professional leagues in the United States. In
preparation, PRO said that the replacement referees attended a training camp
last week.
The referees for games this weekend are: Alan Kelly, a FIFA
referee originally from Ireland; NASL referee Andres Pfefferkorn; former MLS
referee Jorge Luna; former MLS referee Abbey Okulaja; former MLS referee Ramon
Hernandez; former FIFA referee Ioannis Stavridis from Greece; current FIFA
referee Javier Santos from Puerto Rico; and current FIFA referee William
Anderson from Puerto Rico. MLS posted the names Friday on its website.
"We have made a substantial proposal to the
Professional Soccer Referees Association and believe it is very fair and
reasonable," said PRO general manager Peter Walton, an English Premier
League referee from 2003-12. "Our proposal represents a significant increase
above current compensation for referees and places them above the average for
officials around the world. We are disappointed it has been rejected."
PRO said in the 1 1/2 years since its formation, it had
increased full-time officials from two to nine and added 11 part-time
officials.
"We have high confidence in the qualifications of our
replacement officials and can ensure our fans, clubs and players that all games
will be officiated at a professional standard that protects the integrity of
our matches and the safety of our players," said Walton.
The two sides met earlier this week, and have been in
consistent contact with one another since then. Taylor indicated that the PSRA
had received PRO’s most recent offer on Wednesday, but following a
three-and-a-half hour conference call with its members decided to reject that
proposal.
The union also rejected PRO’s offer of a no-strike/no
lockout agreement. Taylor estimated that the two sides were about $400,000
apart in terms of economic issues.
A source with knowledge of negotiations said Friday two
sides are more than $1 million apart.
Taylor indicated that the union had been seeking the
assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the organization
that helped broker the CBA that was negotiated back in 2010 between MLS and the
MLS Players Union.
"It would appear, unfortunately, the league has decided
to employ scorched earth tactics instead," he said.
"We have requested a plethora of information, including
financials, that PRO and MLS have refused to provide, instead demanding we take
their pleas of poverty at face value," said Lukas Middlebrook, a lawyer
for the union.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this
report.
Source: ESPNfc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment