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The Province
an hour ago
- The Province
MLS referees to get ethics refresher in wake of Whitecaps fan complaints
Patrick Johnston: MLS and PRO should also think about the ethics of match assignments. Why are officials doing games in their hometown? Get the latest from Patrick Johnston straight to your inbox Referee Tim Ford (centre right) is followed by Vancouver Whitecaps players as he left the field after Los Angeles FC defeated the Caps during a game in November, 2023. Photo by DARRYL DYCK The Canadian Press / THE CANADIAN PRESS Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Whatever Vancouver Whitecaps fans might think of Tim Ford's performance as referee on Saturday, the revelation that his family has a love of LAFC seems to be leading to change within the organization that oversees Major League Soccer's on-field officials. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'We are re-evaluating our processes about what constitutes a connection with a club,' Professional Referees' Organization spokesperson Chris Rivett said, succinctly, on Tuesday. After all the social media controversy that popped up after Saturday's 2-1 Whitecaps loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, a game filled with contentious calls by Ford, fans found a collection of posts on Instagram by Ford's wife that were taken as showing bias toward LAFC, and thus obviously against the Whitecaps, the argument ran. As part of PRO's game-by-game review process, the group's technical staff will speak with teams about issues they may have had with an official's performance and then do a review themselves. Those discussions with teams don't usually happen until 24 hours have passed, just to give everyone time to breathe. Then the feedback is collected and if it's deemed worth discussing, will be included in the post-match review that each official gets in the days following. Needless to say, Ford's assessment and application of the laws of the game will be, or may have already been, discussed with him. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That is what you would hope from an organization that supervises what are supposed to be the best match officials in North American football. But it's clear from Rivett's acknowledgment that PRO recognizes their discussions this week need to also touch on ethics. Policy is an continuing discussion between PRO and its member officials. The officials meet as a group at least once a month to discuss policy and bigger issues in the game. One of the topics that will be coming up is, essentially, how to protect yourself from accusations of bias. Tim Ford, we can see from his wife's posts, is a proud father and a huge fan of football. It's inevitable that he will be attending matches in his hometown, especially with his kids. (PRO did review the posts in question, and insists they never found a photo of Ford in LAFC livery, or any other MLS club for that matter, and also noted that the photos are mostly old.) This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rivett noted that some officials attend games to support their fellow officials — truly people cheering only for the refs. (I can attest to this being a real thing, just as a witness, to be clear.) But the truth is, there is no doubt that what one intends with one's post and how others might perceive those posts are very different things. This is the unfortunate reality we live in. If you're going to post on social media, someone, somewhere, is going to scrutinize them. Two decades ago, before we entered this hyperreality that can be so easily torqued beyond reason, officials might have been cautioned against having a beer at a match they might be attending on a non-official basis. That was really to protect yourself against the unscrupulous fan who might scream afterwards, 'I saw a ref getting drunk at the footy! He's corrupt!' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wild accusations have been levelled at people for less. That advice holds true today. As does not accepting gifts, no matter how innocuous they may seem. Not even a club pin, given as a thank you. The need to protect yourself against accusations of bias goes so much further now. You must be careful what you share with the broader world. That is surely a topic that will be shared with PRO's members. It may not be fair that an official's family has to police themselves on how they share their lives, but that, again, sadly, is the hyper reality we live in. One thing that PRO and MLS would be wise to consider on top of this ethics refresher: Look at how other footballing nations handle their assignments. In Germany, most officials are members of local clubs. Officials would never be assigned to do a game in their region, meaning that the closer you get to the top, the further you have to travel to blow your whistle — a Bavarian-based referee would almost certainly not be assigned to call a game in Bavaria. Only if both clubs were from Bavaria might they be assigned to call the game. This is to protect the official against any perception of locally driven bias. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. England and Italy have similar policies. This is to say, by living in Los Angeles, Ford should probably not be assigned games in Southern California, maybe not even the entirety of the state itself. In the end, Tim Ford made a series of calls that probably followed the letter of the law, but most of us know the laws in sport can generally be bent. His execution drew a mountain of criticism, some deserved. But his in-game execution is beside the point. The real point is that he should never have been in the position in the first place. The policy needs to be better. It needs to protect officials. pjohnston@ Read More International Soccer News Baseball Baseball News
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Adam van Koeverden on wildfire situation in St. John's
Canada Games alumni and Canada's Secretary for Sport Adam Van Koeverden in St. John's for the Games, shares his thoughts on the ongoing wildfire situation while attending women's box lacrosse.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Hungary's Halász avenges Olympic hammer throw loss to Katzberg, beating Canadian on home soil
Social Sharing Hungarian hammer thrower Bence Halász delivered a personal best and meet record before a home crowd to beat Ethan Katzberg, the reigning Canadian Olympic champion, on a hot and humid Tuesday evening in Budapest. Halász, who was second to Katzberg at the Summer Games last August, topped his opponent on the third attempt at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix and never looked back, finishing with a best throw of 83.18 metres. His previous PB of 81.94 was set Aug. 2 at the Hungarian championships in Budapest. Katzberg was seeking a repeat of last year's victory when he threw 81.87 and held the early advantage Tuesday by throwing 80.31 on his first try and 81.01 on his third of six attempts in Budapest, where the temperature reached 31 C. The Nanaimo, B.C., native's best of 81.88 came two throws later and placed him second. It was his furthest in five events since his 82.73 season best to win at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya. Katzberg, the world's top-ranked men's hammer thrower, won his first five competitions this season but American Rudy Winkler snapped the streak on July 5 at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League track and field meet in Eugene, Ore., where the Canadian was second. WATCH | Katzberg throws 81.88 metres on 2nd attempt in Budapest: Ethan Katzberg captures silver at World Athletics Continental Tour in Budapest 5 hours ago Ukraine's Mykhalo Kokhan, the Olympic bronze medallist in Paris, was third on Tuesday with an 80.84 top throw at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meet also referred to as the Istvan Gyulai Memorial. Ten days ago, Katzberg was victorious over Jeremiah Nubbe at the Canadian championships in Ottawa. Katzberg set the Canadian record of 84.38 on April 20, 2024, and the national championship record of 82.60 on June 26, 2024. At the Paris Olympics, he became Canada's first Olympic hammer throw champion and earned the country's first medal in the event since 1912. WATCH | Pole vaulter Armand Duplantis earns his 13th world mark: Armand Duplantis sets his 13th career world record in the pole vault 4 hours ago At 22, he was the youngest-ever Summer Games hammer gold medallist. His winning throw of 84.12 was 26 centimetres short of the national and area (North and Central America and Caribbean) mark of 84.38. A year earlier, Katzberg was the first Canadian to win a world title in hammer throw, a few days ahead of teammate Camryn Rogers's victory in the women's event in Budapest. 2nd Canadian hurdles title in 3 years Tuesday's meet was supposed to be a tune-up for Canadian hurdler Savannah Sutherland ahead of her scheduled Diamond League debut on Friday in Silesia, Poland, but she didn't take the line for the women's 400-metre event. The 22-year-old from Borden, Sask., was coming off her second national title win in three years. Sutherland, who attends the University of Michigan, ran a Canadian-record 52.46 seconds to victory at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships on June 14. It is not only a meet record but an NCAA and Big Ten mark and ninth-fastest time ever recorded in the event. On July 13, she ran 50.62 in the 400 flat race in Edmonton to automatically qualify for the Sept. 13-21 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Sutherland announced she signed a pro contract with Adidas two days earlier. Around the same time, Sutherland was named one of three women's finalists for The Bowerman, awarded annually to the most outstanding athletes in U.S. collegiate track and field. The winner will be announced Dec. 18 at the United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association convention in Grapevine, Texas. Marie-Josee Talou-Smith wins the women's 100m in Budapest 3 hours ago Current in battle for athletics worlds berth Meanwhile, Kate Current of Cobourg, Ont., is battling for one of potentially three qualifying spots on the Canadian team for worlds in the women's 1,500. She picked up crucial world rankings points on Tuesday by running a 4:02.79 PB to place 13th of 15 finishers. Fifty-six athletes will be selected for the women's 1,500 at the world championships. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford is the lone Canadian woman to run the automatic entry standard. She occupies the 32nd qualifying spot, followed by Simone Plourde (34) and Lucia Stafford (36), while Current is firmly in the mix after Tuesday's performance. The qualifying window closes Aug. 24. Athletics Canada is allowed to select a maximum of three athletes per gender in each event. WATCH | Kishane Thompson clocks 9.95 seconds to prevail in men's 100: Jamaica's Kishane Thompson runs to gold in the men's 100m in Budapest 3 hours ago Flanagan to make marathon debut in T.O. Also Tuesday, it was announced that Ben Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., will debut in the marathon on Oct. 19 at the sold-out Toronto Waterfront event. He also considered debuting in New York, Chicago or the California International Marathon but wanted to target a national title. "Super excited about racing Toronto. [My decision] mostly had to do with racing at home. And [Toronto] lined up well with my personal goals for the marathon debut," Flanagan told CBC Sports. Flanagan hasn't raced since placing seventh in the New York City Half Marathon on March 16. His daughter Nora was born shortly after, and then Flanagan had hoped to enter an extended block of marathon training. Flanagan top Canadian in 7th at NYC Half Marathon More track and field coverage The 30-year-old was unable to defend his Ottawa 10K title in May due to a hip/quad flare up that was later diagnosed as a partially torn labrum in his left hip joint. Flanagan is back running close to his full volume of training but will not compete at the Falmouth Road Race in Massachusetts, near his home in Cape Cod. He won the men's elite 11.3 km race in his 2022 debut and was seventh last year. "Unfortunately, I'm not in competitive form, and the main priority is being ready for Toronto," he said. "I'm aiming for about 120 km this week and building from there." Julien Alfred to miss Diamond League sprints Olympic 100-metres champion Julien Alfred will miss three Diamond League meetings in August due to injury, event organizers said on Tuesday. The 24-year-old from Saint Lucia won't race Friday in Silesia, Poland, Lausanne, Switzerland (Aug. 20) and Brussels (Aug. 22). She was slated to run the 100 in Silesia and 200 in Lausanne. Alfred has clocked 10.75 seconds in the 100 this season and is ranked second in the world. She last competed at the London Diamond League where she won the 200 in a personal-best 21.71 seconds. Alfred has won four races from her five Diamond League appearances in 2025 and secured qualification for the 100m at the final in Zurich, which runs from August 27-28. World Athletics Continental Tour Budapest 10 hours ago Watch all the action from the 2025 World Athletics Continental Tour stop in Budapest, Hungary.
