MLS Might Have a Beef With Ridicule of Red Bull
It should be quite a meeting, if it ever happens.
Alecko Eskandarian, say hello to Dietrich “Didi” Mateschitz.
Eskandarian, as Major League Soccer fans know, is the D.C. United striker whose timely goals led the team to its fourth MLS title in 2004. He is also the son of Andranik Eskandarian, one of the galaxy of stars who graced the Cosmos when they ruled the North American Soccer League roost 30 years ago.
Mateschitz, meanwhile, is the Austrian businessman who made his fortune with an energy drink he named Red Bull. Among his many pals is none other than former Cosmos star Franz Beckenbauer, now head of the Germany ’06 World Cup Organizing Committee.
Mateschitz is also the man who, with a little advice from Beckenbauer, spent upward of $100 million this spring to buy the MetroStars and rename them the New York Red Bulls.
The Red Bulls play at Giants Stadium, the old home of Pele, Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and the rest of the Cosmos, many of whom were on hand for the Red Bulls’ 2006 home opener a couple of weeks ago.
On Saturday, Eskandarian left his own mark at the stadium where his father once starred.
After scoring the first of his two goals in what would be a 4-1 rout of the Red Bulls, Eskandarian, the top MLS draft pick in 2003, ran over to the D.C. United bench and caught a can of Red Bull tossed to him by teammate Jamil Walker.
Eskandarian took a swig of the drink, then turned and spat it out in mock disgust.
Laughter all round, right?
Well, yes and no.
Some didn’t know what to make of it. Was it simply a gag, harmless fun by a player enjoying his moment in the spotlight? Or was it a tasteless, unnecessary and unsportsmanlike bit of mockery aimed at the opposing team, its owner and his cash-cow product?
Should referee Kevin Stott have given Eskandarian a yellow card? Will his own team or the league fine him for his antics? Stott did make note of the incident in his game report that was forwarded to the league.
“By no means was I trying to offend anyone in their organization,” Eskandarian said. “It was just something funny for the guys to laugh at in the locker room.
“They’re our rivals, and I apologize if I offended anyone, but it was just a little joke.”
A premeditated joke?
“I’ve had a history of concussions, so I can’t really remember,” Eskandarian told reporters after the match.
That does not jibe with what he told Heather Mitts, the U.S. women’s national team defender who was a sideline reporter for ESPN2 during the nationally televised game.
Eskandarian told Mitts that it had been teammate Santino Quaranta’s idea all along and that he had been the one “dumb enough” to go along with it.
It remains to be seen whether MLS officials see it as a joke or as offensive to Mateschitz, the man who has just put millions of dollars into the league.
On the positive side, the incident will increase the rivalry between four-time champion D.C. United and the Red Bulls, who in 10 years as the MetroStars won nothing at all.
And a spirited rivalry, as Galaxy captain Peter Vagenas said the other day while talking about the most recent Chivas USA-Galaxy match, is what makes the game worth playing.
“That’s the type of atmosphere that MLS needs to strive for,” Vagenas said. “Every time we play Chivas it’s been so exhilarating as a player [that] I would do that for free every day.”
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Interesting to see just how much money is flowing FIFA’s way these days and, perhaps as a consequence, how much of it will flow referees’ ways during the World Cup from June 9 through July 9.
Within the past week, world soccer’s governing body has signed a $195-million sponsorship deal with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum and his Dubai-based Emirates Airline.
A week earlier, FIFA also came to a somewhat more problematic agreement with Visa International in which the credit-card giant would be a global sponsor of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, as well as other FIFA competitions.
The latter deal, worth an estimated $150 million to $200 million, has caused MasterCard International to file suit against FIFA in U.S. District Court, alleging that it had “the right of first refusal to continue to be the category-exclusive sponsor for those events.”
Noah Hanft, the general counsel for MasterCard International, told the Associated Press that FIFA’s action constituted “a blatant and deceitful violation of our right of first refusal.”
A FIFA spokesman claimed no knowledge of the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, FIFA is dishing out no less than $4 million to referees at Germany ‘06, including those who failed to make the final cut.
The 23 referees and 46 assistant referees who will officiate at the 32-nation tournament each will receive $40,000, as will the 21 reserve referees and assistants even if they don’t work a game.
Thirty-nine referees and assistants who were not selected will each receive $20,000. Just why is anyone’s guess, but Urs Linsi, FIFA’s general secretary and a confidante of FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, tried to explain.
“They’ve worked hard and come a long way, even if they weren’t successful,” Linsi told reporters in Frankfurt.
Referees are as much a part of the game as players and coaches and deserve to be compensated, and compensated well at the highest levels. But it seems a better system needs to be devised.
As matters stand, FIFA chooses which referees make it to the World Cup and decides how much they are to be paid. It is only a small step from there to realizing just how easily certain FIFA executives could influence certain referees regarding just what result is desired on the field.
The integrity of the tournament deserves better.
