An Open Letter from the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) to MLS, PRO, and US Soccer

For several years, the idea of using foreign referees to work games in Major League Soccer has been considered a possible step for the future of the league. It has been said, that using foreign referees will either prove that US Referees are better than, or maybe not as good as, referees from other parts of the world.

During the recent (March 2014) lockout of Bargaining Unit members of the PSRA due to an unresolved labor dispute, PRO and MLS took the liberty of using at least two referees who are known to be referees of foreign nationality – former FIFA Referees in their respective countries – as replacements for the locked out PSRA members. It is not confirmed if either of these individuals has the right to work in the United States of America, nor if they are registered referees with US Soccer – as is required to work in the professional leagues according to ???.

With this letter, the members of PSRA, along with significant support of the entire referee community, would like to make it very clear that we consider the use of foreign referees in our top flight professional league:

WE STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THE USE OF FOREIGN REFEREES IN MLS OR ANY OTHER US PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE AND ARE EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED THAT THE USE OF FOREIGN REFEREES MAY CONTINUE.

We ask that MLS and PRO discontinue the practice of using foreign referees immediately, and we ask US Soccer to support its own registered and well-qualified referees – not those developed in a system outside the system of US Soccer.

Sincerely,

The Members of the PSRA