New Mexico/BYU: What happened to the Referee, Joe Pimentel?
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posted by From A Left Wing Meditations on the Beautiful Game from an Unlikey Player and Fan. |
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Elizabeth Lambert's name is now synonymous with violent play. What happened to Joe Pimentel (pictured here, giving Lambert the one yellow card he issued)? The center referee basically folded his arms and did nothing through that match - was he suspended, pending some sort of inquiry and evaluation? Nope - He went on to referee a men's game a few days later: the UCLA/Washington PAC-10 championship match, in fact. Does that seem fair to you? This is in spite of the fact that the referee assignor and high level administrators were at New Mexico/BYU match.
I've e-mailed the board of the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association, and am waiting for a reply. I encourage readers to do the same - this is not an incident in which a ref missed sly fouls committed off the ball. My faith in the fairness and competency level of refereeing at NCAA matches is deeply shaken by not just the poor officiating at the New Mexico/BYU game, but by the fact that the referee ultimately responsible for policing such things was in essence rewarded for his failings.
When do we get a public statement from him, from the NISOA and from the coaching staff at New Mexico accepting responsibility for their role in keeping an out of control player on the field?
View Original Post at fromaleftwing.blogspot.com
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- Filed Under:
- Soccer, Sports, SportsPLUS, College, Student-Athlete
There are 3 comments on this post. Join the discussion!
soccerfan
There is an easy explanation for this. I am a NISOA referee. NISOA is filled with referees that are a part of the "good old boy" system. If they like, you are in. If they don't like you, you are out.
Once, I was an assistant referee at a game where the center referee told me not to call (raise my flag) for fouls. I tried to call fouls the first half, but I was reprimanded. The second half, a player committed a hand-ball in front of me that resulted in the goal; the center referee was 40 yards away from play. At that point, I stood still holding my flag as to signal "problem." If there is a goal, the asst. referee sprints back to the half line. Otherwise, the asst. referee holds the flag. I followed protocol. The referee never once looked at me to verify the goal. The players and the coaches were upset and there was nothing I could do.
There are all sorts of problems with NISOA and how it works. There are a lot of good officials there, but the politics interferes. If you want to break the system, then allow NISOA to merge with USSF/FIFA to allow a larger governing body.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 8:20pm PDT
soccerfan
Most likely, you will never get a response from NISOA board. If you do, it will be a response similar to that of Lambert's apology.
Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 8:22pm PDT
Left Wing
hi soccer fan, thanks for your comments - i've heard similar things from other officials - it's great to have the perspective of actual referees!
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 9:31am PDT