Bruce Arena Expresses Frustration With Saturday's Referees

Bruce Arena: “I think the game management by the officiating crew and the VAR at the end was very poor."

Photo courtesy of J. Alexander Dolan

New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena wasn’t pleased about Saturday’s officiating.

In the 56th minute, Dylan Borrero was shown a yellow card for dissent after referee Chris Penso gave the Columbus Crew a goal kick. Borrero’s night came to an end nine minutes later when he was shown his second yellow, this one for a foul.

While Arena questioned Borrero’s judgment, he also made a comment about the referee.

“Well, [Borrero’s] a young, immature player and you’re in a game with a referee that’s probably immature as well,” Arena said. “I think the yellow card for dissent, a strong referee doesn’t give that. The yellow card for the foul was clear. No question about that. [Borrero] has to grow up. He’s still a young player. He has to mature.”

The Revs were down a man, but up a goal heading into stoppage time. The officiating crew initially indicated that there would be five minutes of stoppage time, but a Video Assistant Referee check complicated things.

The check was about a possible handball in the box associated with Andrew Farrell. After a prolonged stoppage, play was allowed to continue without a penalty.

Arena was unsure about the delay.

“If they’re going to use their phony baloney standard of clear and obvious why would it take that long to decide it’s not a foul?” Arena asked. “It was obviously not clear and obvious if it takes you that long to come to that conclusion. Unless they see it otherwise. [It was] a poor job by the VAR.”

The Crew ultimately found an equalizer after 97 minutes and 46 seconds of play, according to the broadcast. The final whistle came soon after.

“I think the game management by the officiating crew and the VAR at the end was very poor,” Arena said. “They scored, on my watch, in the 98th minute. So, I’m disappointed with all of that. That simple.”

Arena got a yellow card after the goal, but he couldn’t explain the reason during his post-game press conference.

“I don’t know why I got a yellow card at the end of the game,” Arena commented. “The fourth official was pretty useless the entire game and for some reason, she then voiced her opinion 98 and a half minutes into the game.”

The final result was a 1-1 draw between two strong Eastern Conference teams.

Giacomo Vrioni, who got his first start since the season opener, is optimistic about his team after this weekend’s performance.

“It was a good game,” Vrioni said. “I think we deserved at the end three points because we played an amazing game. Amazing first half, second half we started very well with the goal, and we were unlucky at the end that [the Crew] scored. But I think that if we play every game like today, we can have a good season. So, let's keep going this way because we like how we play.”