1990 MISL ALL-STAR GAME : NOTEBOOK : Veteran Referee Hopes to Avoid Controversy

Gino Dippolito will be working his sixth Major Indoor Soccer League All-Star game tonight, most for any referee. Dippolito, the league’s senior official, was on hand for the first MISL game in 1978 and for the first All-Star game in 1980.

Though he is booed by fans here, he is considered among the most consistent referees in the league.

“That’s what they say,” he said. “I just go out there and do my best, but I do make mistakes, though I’ll never make another mistake to make up for the first one. That would just be two mistakes instead of one.”

The call he remembers best in his previous All-Star games was a handball he called against Steve Zungul in the fourth quarter of the 1983 All-Star game in Kansas City that nullified a goal by Zungul, who already had a goal and an assist.

“It probably took the MVP away from him,” Dippolito said. “But it was the right call.”

The West eventually won in overtime, but the Most Valuable Player voting was done before the game ended. The award went to Memphis’ Stan Stamenkovic, who scored four goals for the East. It was the first MVP award given to a player on the losing team.

DALLAS FORWARD TATU has 41 goals this season, which means he has thrown his shirt to the crowd that many times. He doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about what it’s costing management, though.

“I don’t know how much it costs,” he says. “I don’t pay.”

And he doesn’t mind having a fresh jersey every game.

“When you wash your shirt year around it doesn’t smell good all the way,” he says. “I don’t have to worry about that. The equipment manager doesn’t have to wash mine.”

MISL COMMISSIONER EARL FOREMAN has been talking with the players’ union to work an agreement allowing teams the option of playing outdoor soccer this summer.

So far, only St. Louis owner Milan Mandaric has shown interest.

Mandaric said he does not intend to repeat the mistakes of the Sockers, who played outdoors in the early 1980s in the North American Soccer League and ran up a debt that eventually forced former owner Bob Bell to sell.

“I’m not trying to start a new outdoor league,” he said. “I see it as a community project to promote the game and keep the players together.”

WEST COACH RON NEWMAN poked fun at his two goalkeepers, Slobo Ilijevski (St. Louis) and Krys Sobieski (Dallas) at Tuesday’s media luncheon.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in goal,” he said. “A lot of experience. Many, many years of experience. Most of the players are coming up to me and asking, ‘How much of a bonus do we get?’ but the two goalies came up and asked about their pensions.”

Sobieski, 40, has been in the league since 1980 when he played for the Pittsburgh Spirit. Ilijevski, 39, started the same year with the St. Louis Steamers.

TRIVIA TIME: Who is the only player to be kicked out of an MISL All-Star game?

ANSWER: Juli Veee.