Dre_00 said:
Ehhhhh...have you watched a MLS game? American refs can be just as horrible as non-American ones. There's elements to this that sounds like that Nike campaign "Americans don't dive" which is a bunch of crap. And I seem to remember several American players asking the ref for a card on Guardado (which he fully deserved).
The ref was a complete **** show. No need to try and turn it into a moral high ground about how Americans are manlier and our refs are better.
No I don't watch MLS. Why would I? I watch Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Champions League and International soccer. Bad refs abound everywhere. I'm not saying Americans are more manly or that our refs are better. I'm saying, in soccer, Latin and South American teams grow up learning to flop and fake and draw fouls and cards. Americans are just starting to do this, but are not nearly as proficient at it as teams like Mexico.
That's just obvious and it played out Sunday night. Mckennie saw the Mexican dude jump on Altidore's back and he reacted. Hands to his throat, he stood there like a man ready to throw down. A Mexican player would have fallen to the ground as if his throat had been cut.... Not because of manliness, because of training, soccer culture.
Thanks much to a ref that was brought up in the same culture as the Mexicans, Mexico was not carded, and were given the lions' share of calls. As for what happens in the MLS, I don't care.