Daily news roundups

News Roundup: Union win, rough weekend in USL, Kevin Kratz, Americans in Denmark, and Barcelona wins

Photo by Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

THE UNION WON! 3-2. Against a rather bad team. At home. Only thanks to a late and lucky goal. But hey, three points!

Home, away, national, and international coverage of the Union’s win.

Union play-by-play man and US Soccer legend will once again be calling the World Cup this summer.

Allegedly the Union have targeted Honduran forward Rubilo Castillo for transfer once Montagua’s season ends in Tegucigalpa. (Google Translate)

Dočkal’s game-winner has been nominated for AT&T Goal of the Week.

Local

In a battle of the re-brands Penn FC (née Harrisburg City Islanders) travelled to Cary, NC to face North Carolina FC (née Carolina RailHawks). NCFC won 3-0.

Bethlehem Steel also had a disappointing weekend, losing to undefeated Louisville City 3-1. Good news though, Union man Derrick Jones wore the captain’s armband.

MLS

Many in Ohio were hoping early-season support would help keep the Crew in Columbus, but weather and the threat of relocation are conspiring against them. #SaveTheCrew

Reports are circulating that Atlanta’s Miguel Almiron could be heading to Europe (specifically Italy or Spain) this summer. Reports are also circulating that Atlanta United have received no offers for Miguel Almiron. So who knows what’s going on down there.

Despite just putting his client on a five year contract with Man City, Kevin De Bruyne’s agent is already spreading rumors that he might join the Galaxy eventually.

Union LEGEND Kevin Kratz is earning serious praise for a tidy free kick the Atlanta United midfielder scored against Montreal.

VAR ruled this goal by New England’s Teal Bunbury was NOT offside. Discuss.

LAFC played their first home game ever in Banc of California Stadium, beating Seattle 1-0.

US Soccer

In response to the American President wading in to the world of soccer via his Twitter account, FIFA has issued a statement restating the rules which prohibit government influence on the bidding process.

Eighteen year-old Jonathan Amon started and scored a beautiful goal for FC Nordsjælland (DEN) in their 3-1 loss to undefeated Brøndby IF.

World

On news of Arsene Wenger’s departure, Jose Mourinho reflects on their long-standing rivalry.

Napoli’s ten-man stumble vs. Fiorentina means Juventus is inching away with a Serie A title that seemed up for grabs just one week ago.

The buzz in Liga MX is about two teams from the capital facing off in the Clausura playoffs, even though it’s the teams from Monterrey that are coming in as the favorites to win.

This isn’t particularly surprising, so this is the headline that’s actually interesting.

“Foreign investors” have purchased a team in England’s third tier.

Hamburg, somehow, might manage to keep their clock running in the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, a ref got booked for diving.

14 Comments

  1. That Bunbury goal straight up stole points from KC. Wow, what a terrible use of VAR. I would not want to be around Peter Vermes for another several days.

    • How was that even considered for review let alone called a goal. This is why people don’t like replays.

      • If there’s audio on the video, I didn’t get to hear it. My assumption is that the ruling was that the ball was played back by the KC player, and therefore Bunbury being behind the line didn’t matter?
        .
        If so, it’s a shitty call. If not, it’s an even shittier call.

  2. “Only thanks to a late and lucky goal” – Isn’t that a little harsh? I feel like the 72nd minute isn’t usually considered late, and the 3rd goal (unlike our 1st goal) appeared to be mostly skill (and power) to me.

    • Agreed. That was straight up skill. Probably the most impressive thing anyone on this team had intentionally done since Barnetta and Nogs left.

  3. So they actually ruled the KC defender played the ball back to Bunbury to keep him onside…. That’s a tough call, and tbh, not all that obvious on the replay. I’m really not a fan of VAR, I think it has largely made referee decision’s even more controversial than they were before VAR. It certainly has done nothing to make people feel better about decisions made on the pitch. Look at how it was used in Italy on the weekend. Turned a yellow card penalty into a red card that put Napoli down a man in a must win game. Now that VAR decision is bigger than the match.
    .
    I like goal line tech. The rest can just get trashed.

    • Yep. “Did the ball cross the line or not?” is pretty much the only question I want technology to answer.

      • There are clear cut times when the ref just misses something because of his angle or whatever and it can be used well in those situations. This was not one of them.

    • I like the use of VAR to rule on simulation as well.

    • If the VAR decision overturned that penalty and kept it 11v11 – like it did in a game earlier in the MLS season – then the decision is still huge. The correct call is the best call, no matter how it gets made. If that Revs goal is a goal – I argue it is by the letter of the law – then it should be a goal. I hate the human element of reffing, it’s ALWAYS biased and flawed. There is no way you can convince me it’s better for the game when the home team, or superstars in some cases, get the benefit of way more calls than their opponent.

      • If you look at the larger issue, though. VAR has not instilled any more confidence in referee decisions. VAR has not eliminated non-calls and questionable decisions. And even when there is a clear view in replay, when it comes to interpreting a player’s intent, there will still be questions. It hasn’t added anything to the game (except for players drawing boxes with their fingers to call for a review when they feel hard done]. Maybe that confidence will come with time, but I don’t see it.

    • Richie_the_Limey says:

      That Bunbury goal is the POSTER CHILD for the use of VAR. The naked eye couldn’t say without doubt that the defending side played that ball to the attacker. Without it a perfectly legal goal is taken away. Now, in this case the law of the game is an ass, and I personally think that it should still stand as offside, but the laws are the laws. Also, the replay needs to start three seconds earlier.

      • Agreed. VAR isn’t the issue on this one, but the laws of the game do need to improve.

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