PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

MLS has sought to soothe our fears around their refereeing shenanigans by announcing the replacement referees for this weekend’s opening matches. They need replacements of course, because the current MLS referees – including World Cup referee Mark Geiger – were locked out today by the Professional Referees Organization (PRO), an arm of MLS.

But never fear, because these scabs replacements totally know what they’re doing.

Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting KC
Alan Kelly – former FIFA Ireland
Dimitar Chadarav – MLS Reserve, NWSL
Kyle Longville – MLS Preseason

D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew
Andres Pfefferkorn – NASL Referee, MLS Preseason
Yevgeniy Mednikov – USL PRO
Stefan McHardy – MLS Preseason

FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact
Jorge Luna – Former MLS fourth official
Luis Guardia – Open Cup
Pedro Trejo – International, NASL

Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution
Ramon Hernandez – Former MLS Referee
Isreal Fernandez – MLS Preseason
Marcos de Oliveira – MLS Preseason, NASL

Portland Timbers vs. Philadelphia Union
Ioannis Stavridis – Former FIFA Greece
Caleb Mendez – MLS Preseason, NASL
Andrew Bigelow – NASL, Open Cup

LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
Javier Santos – Current FIFA Puerto Rico
Jairo Morales – Current FIFA Puerto Rico
Jose Da Silva – MLS Preseason, NASL

Chivas USA vs. Chicago Fire
William Anderson – Current FIFA Puerto Rico
Jair Morales – Current FIFA Puerto Rico
Jose da Silva – MLS Preseason, NASL