Real Salt Lake's 2024 season opener against Inter Miami likely to feature replacement refs
Barring a last-minute deal, MLS is likely to kick off the 2024 regular season when RSL visits Inter Miami with replacement officials after PRO opted to lock out MLS refs.
Real Salt Lake will open the 2024 MLS regular season Wednesday when it travels to Inter Miami for a world-wide interest match with Lionel Messi’s club that will inaugurate the second year of the league’s decade-long deal with Apple TV.
But the league will miss a critical component of that match: the officials.
That’s because, barring a dramatic last-minute change of heart, MLS will likely open the season with replacement referees after the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) opted to lock out MLS refs, effective Saturday.
The news came after the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), the union represents all professional referees in the United States and Canada, announced that its membership had overwhelmingly voted to reject leadership’s tentative agreement with PRO for a new collective bargaining agreement with the league.
The was 95.8 percent “no,” according to the PSRA.
As part of a new five-year CBA, the PSRA said it was attempting to negotiate “improved pay and benefits for all officials, particularly assistant referees and video match officials,” according to a statement from the association. The terms included:
Increased guaranteed pay in the agreement’s first year of 10-33% for referees, 75-104% for assistant referees, 15-100% for video match officials, and match fees for regular-season games and playoffs.
An increase of 7 percent in 2027 for all salaries/retainers and match fees, which would have been the highest mid-contract raise ever offered.
First class/business class air travel for the palyoffs and MLS Cup throughout the deal, and for Decision Day matches beginning in 2027 and 2028.
Additional benefits such as enhanced injury continuance, physical therapy reimbursement through PRO’s sports performance program, employer contributions for ARs and video replay officials for reimbursable health care costs, and increased severance for refs and ARs.
A total of 66 officials have already been identified as replacement referees, according to Jeff Carlisle at ESPN.com, including 11 with FIFA or professional experience in the top-three divisions in Brazil, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico and Poland. NCAA Division I college referees could also be an option, according to Felipe Cardenas of The Athletic.
Later Sunday night, the PSRA condemned the lockout, saying that MLS and PRO’s initial offer did not provide a proper health care plan or cost-effective benefits to 70 of the officials, as first reported by Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“During negotiations, PRO rejected every comparator to referees across the world, instead comparing the referees to camera operators in terms of their value to the game,” the statement continued. “Meanwhile, now MLS is saying their offer is ‘among the highest in the world.’ Contrasted with the referees of Germany, who are paid approximately 100,000 Euro base per season and 5,000 Euro per match, MLS/PRO’s offer was not remotely close to hose kinds of wages.”
“This is their weak attempt to apply economic pressure, and MLS is sacrificing the quality of the game to do that,” said Peter Manikowski, president and lead negotiator for PSRA, in a statement. “We call it like it is – and this is a foul.”
“Rather than taking care of some very basic needs that officials have, MLS and PRO are willing to hurt the quality of the game. That should alarm every player, coach and fan, and it’s devastating to our officials, who have dedicated their entire lives – mind, body and extensive experience – to this game,” Manikowski added. “We stand for the game.”
The statement continued that the PSRA, which represents officials in MLS, NWSL and USL, has “indicated its intention to continue bargaining in good faith,” and pinned the lockout squarely on MLS and PRO.
All of this comes as the league enters its second year of a $2.5 billion deal with Apple, with team sponsorship revenue up $587 million in 2023, according to a study by SponsorUnited cited by the PRSA.
“We made meaningful progress during recent bargaining, agreeing to fair pay increases, and addressing many of the PSRA’s concerns with respect to non-economic items,” PRO general manager Mark Geiger said in a statement. “This represented approximately a 25 percent overall increase over 2023 when comparing salary, retainers, game fees, and benefits plus the addition of business class travel for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The result of the membership vote is disappointing.”
As part of its “contingency plan” for the upcoming season, PRO will begin utilizing “experienced professional match referees supported by veteran VAR officials,” according to a statement from the league.
“It's extremely disappointing that the officials have voted against the tentative agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement reached by the Professional Soccer Referees Association and the Professional Referee Organization,” MLS vice president of sporting product and competition Nelson Rodríguez said. “PRO worked for months and addressed all the issues that were raised by PSRA’s bargaining unit. It is also unfortunate that the PSRA rejected PRO’s offer for a mutual no strike — no lockout commitment, which would have allowed all match officials to continue working during ongoing negotiations.”