MLS to use replacement referees for Week 2 as labor negotiations continue

Major League Soccer will play another weekend of games with replacement referees after representatives from the Professional Soccer Referees Association and the Professional Referee Organization met in New York City on Wednesday and failed to reach an agreement in an ongoing labor dispute. Following Wednesday’s impasse, PRO notified the PSRA on Friday that a previous week’s contract offer to the officials would remain on the table until midnight on Monday, March 11, adding that if that offer is not accepted and ratified, its next offer to the PSRA would include “less favorable terms in some areas,” according to multiple sources briefed on negotiations. PRO’s team of replacement referees, which includes college and youth referees and a large crop of officials who have experience refereeing lower-division games, handled MLS’ opening weekend with PRO and the PSRA unable to reach terms before the season’s start. PRO — the organization that oversees professional refereeing in the United States and Canada and assigns referees to MLS matches — locked its officials represented by the PSRA out on February 18th after a pair of temporary extensions to the previous labor agreement between PRO and the PSRA expired and the PSRA’s membership resoundingly rejected the initial proposal put together by negotiators. “In joint session,” the update reads, “PRO representatives made a long statement criticizing, among other things, your negotiating committee’s decision to send through ratification to allow you to vote and have your voice heard on PRO then stated they needed yet more time to consider PSRA’s proposal and would not be providing a counter-proposal during the session.” The next update came on Friday, in which PRO told the PSRA that the previous contract offer remained but would be rescinded and made less favorable if not accepted by March 11.