On Monday it was revealed that the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA) of the United States and Canada is on track to initiate a strike that would impact the start of the 2024 Major League Soccer season. This would force the North American league to seek replacement referees to continue with its currently planned schedule. With such excitement over Lionel Messi linking up with Luis Suárez from the off at Inter Miami, delays would be far from ideal for the league.
What is MLS referee complaint?
As reported by Pablo Maurer and Tom Bogert for The Athletic, the PSRA voted in favor of authorizing a strike and filed a complaint for unfair labor practices against the Professional Referees Organization (PRO). The complaint alleges that PRO engaged in ‘direct dealings’ with members of the PSRA, sidelining the union leadership, while both entities are in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
In the ongoing negotiations, the most crucial point so far is the financial issue for those PSRA members with significantly low incomes. However, PRO presented a proposal that offered only marginal salary increases. They are currently in an extension of the previous agreement, as it expired on 15 January. The extension allows them to undergo medical and physical tests in preparation for MLS 2024.
Closer but notable gap in MLS refereeing negotiations
Despite the two parties reportedly being somewhat closer to reaching a positive conclusion in the negotiations, the situation is exacerbated by the PSRA’s complaint to the National Labor Relations Board. The complaint alleges that PRO engaged in direct discussions with members of the Referees Association to reach individual agreements.
“In recent negotiations, PRO representatives have stated at the table that their ‘client,’ MLS, is unwilling to materially pay more for refereeing services,” read the statement from the PSRA. The response from PRO was clear and critical: “PSRA needs to be more realistic in their proposals.”
Inter Miami are scheduled to get into action against Real Salt Lake in the MLS 2024 curtain raiser on 22 February. Let’s see...
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