Don Garber plays dumb on why MLS ref proposal was rejected

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has claimed that he does not know what his league’s referees want in their current collective bargaining negotiations. MLS recently locked out their referees after their union, the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA), declined the latest labor proposal. The North American soccer league is now using replacement referees for the time being.

MLS had a financial deal in place with their refs in recent weeks. This came after getting on the same page with the Professional Referees Organization (PRO). This group manages match referees in the North American league. However, PSRA eventually blocked the latest proposal after a vote. According to the association, 95.8% of voting officials chose to reject the most recent proposal.

Don Garber claims to be clueless about referees’ demands in MLS proposal

As the 2024 MLS season was set to start on Wednesday night, Garber was asked directly about the situation. The commissioner admitted that the negotiations are unique in the sports world but was also not exactly sincere in his thoughts on what PSRA wants in the deal.

“I’ve been in a lot of labor negotiations. I’ve never been in a labor negotiation where you reach an agreement with a bargaining unit and they don’t sell it to their members,” Garber. “That’s certainly unprecedented in my experience in professional sports.”

“We extended the negotiating period at their request multiple times. We offered a no-lockout and no-strike clause, they didn’t want that. I don’t even know what it is they want at this point because we don’t even have any information from them, so it is unfortunate.”

“We are very, very confident in PRO and their leadership of the officiating for the professional game in North America and hopefully we’ll get through it. And if we don’t, we’re very prepared.”

Nevertheless, PSRA officials have made it what they expect from the outcome of the…

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Author : Chris Moore

Publish date : 2024-02-22 20:39:46

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